Submersion
by TwistedRocketPower
Summary: Sequel to Shattered. Cody gets a new case about a serial killer who preys on pregnant women. When he becomes too involved in the case, things get dangerous and the only man who can save his life, is the man who 16 years earlier, almost ended it.
1. Good Luck With That

**Sequel to Shattered, which is a sequel of Survival. **

* * *

"We gather here today in memory of Carey Loraine Martin, not to mourn her death, but to celebrate her life..."

Cassie shifted in her seat as the pastor continued.

"You okay?" Zack asked as she squeezed his hand.

"Yeah," She whispered with a nod, "Sorry," She loosened her grip and continued to listen to the pastor.

"Carey was loved by many. She was always willing to help those around her..."

Cassie shifted again as she put one hand on her stomach and squeezed Zack's hand even harder than before.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Zack asked again.

"I think... I'm going... Into labor," She replied, taking a deep breath after every other word.

Zack's eyes widened, "Wha... Now?"

Cassie nodded.

"But you're not due for another week."

"Tell that to the baby! Ah!" She screamed as the contraction got worse. Everyone in the church glanced over at her, but quickly turned their attention back to the pastor.

Cody, who was crying, looked over at Cassie, then asked Zack, "Is she okay?"

"We're gonna have to leave Cody. She's in labor," He replied.

"What!" Cody said in shock. Again everyone stared.

Anna, Toby, and Jimmy were sitting on the same row as Cody, Zack, and Cassie. So Cody turned to Anna and told her the news, Anna turned to Toby, then Toby turned to Jimmy. Soon enough they were all staring at Cassie, who was waiting for the next contraction to end before getting out of her seat.

They were sitting in the front row so when Zack got up, everyone in the church stared. Zack and Cody helped Cassie out of her seat. The pastor, not sure what was going on, didn't know whether to stop talking and call 911, or to continue.

Cody and Zack walked Cassie outside and got her into Zack's car.

Toby, who was getting annoyed with all the whispers, stood up, "Excuse me!" He called out to them, "Have you people never seen a woman in labor before? And did you forget why we are here today? Stop the whispering and listen to what the pastor is saying. Show your respect for Carey Martin!"

The whole place was quiet as Toby sat back down and the pastor continued, "That's how you get things done," He whispered to Anna, who couldn't believe what he had just said.

* * *

Zack got into the drivers seat and started the car, "Are you sure you don't want me to follow you there now?" Cody asked.

"No, go back inside. Just come to the hospital afterwards."

Cody nodded, "Of course, I'll be there as soon as the funeral is over."

"Ah!" Cassie screamed, "Zack, I really don't want to have the baby in the car!"

"Oh, right! Let's go!"

"Good luck Cassie," Cody said right before Zack drove off.

"Thank you," She replied quickly.

* * *

After the funeral was over Cody quickly walked back to his car.

"Wait!" Jimmy called out to him. He, Toby, and Anna walked up to him, "Are you going to the hospital now?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah."

"You want us to come with you?" Toby offered.

"No, you guys don't have to do that. It will probably be a while before she has it anyway."

"You sure? We don't mind."

"Thanks, but you'd just be sitting in a waiting room. I'll let you know when it's born though."

"You better," Jimmy replied.

"See ya later," Toby said as he and Jimmy walked off.

Anna stayed by Cody's car, "I'm sorry about your Mom. So much went on in the church that it seems unfair to her. I mean, I know Cassie couldn't help it, I'm not blaming her or anything."

Cody smiled, "I know what you mean. I'm glad that Cassie went into labor though. It'll help keep my mind off of... Things."

Anna nodded, "Well, I'll see you later."

"Bye."

* * *

Twenty minutes later Cody made it to the hospital. Every hour or so Zack would come into the waiting room and tell him how far along she was, and how much longer it should be.

At nine o'clock that night, Cody was reading a magazine when he heard a familiar, "Hello."

He looked up, "Anna! What are you doing here?"

She sat down beside him, "I couldn't relax. I tried to get my mind on other things but I kept thinking about Cassie."

Anna and Cassie had become close friends since James's trial. Actually Carey, Jimmy, Toby, Cassie, Anna, Zack, and Cody had all become really close.

"The last I heard, she was eight centimeters. That was like an hour ago," He said as he looked at his watch.

"Getting closer!" She replied happily, "I love babies. They're so cute and innocent."

Just then Zack came into the waiting room. Cody and Anna jumped up, "Is it time?" Cody asked.

Zack nodded, "Ten centimeters," He replied with a pale face, "She's about to start pushing."

"Well, what are you doing out here then?" Cody asked with a grin.

"I... I think I'm gonna puke. I don't think I'm ready."

Cody laughed, "Of course you're ready! You're just nervous. Listen Zack, you are going to be a great Dad, okay? Now get back in that room and help Cassie have your baby."

Zack nodded, "Thanks," He said as he gave Cody a quick hug then left.

Anna and Cody sat back down.

"I'm not sure he even noticed you were here," Cody said.

Anna laughed, "He's terrified. You think he'll be okay in there?"

Cody sighed, "We can only hope."

After a few minutes of silence Anna, who could tell something was wrong with Cody, decided to speak up, "Are you okay?" She asked.

He looked at her, "How'd you know?"

"I'm a detective. Plus, your Mom just passed away. That can't be easy."

"It's not," He agreed, "But I kind of feel bad that I'm taking it as well as I am. That's what is really bothering me."

"Cody, you had a long time to deal with the fact that she wasn't going to make it. The doctors told you four months before she died that there was nothing more they could do for her. You made the past four months the happiest she ever had."

"How do you know?" He asked as tears filled his eyes.

"She told me. The last time Cassie, Carey and I went out she told me that you and Zack had made every day so special. And not just the last four months, but every day of her life. Her words, not mine."

A tear fell onto Cody's cheek and he quickly wiped it away, "Thanks."

She patted his back, "Anytime."

* * *

Thirty minutes later and even more pale faced Zack came into the waiting room. Once again both Anna and Cody jumped up, "What is it?" "How big is it?" "What's it's name?" "Is Cassie okay?" "Is the baby okay?" They were both asking.

Zack smiled, "One question at a time people. Cassie is fine. The baby is fine... Perfect actually. It's a girl. Seven pounds, eight ounces, and nineteen inches long. We named her Ella Loraine."

Cody and Anna were both smiling, "That's such a beautiful name!" Anna said, "Congratulations!" She added as she gave him a hug.

"Thank you. Cassie wanted you to be able to come in but the nurse said it was to late, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"That's fine," She replied, "I gotta go home and get some sleep anyway. I have work tomorrow. Bye you guys. Congrats again Zack."

"Thanks."

Cody and Zack sat down in the waiting room, "When did Anna get here?" Zack asked.

Cody laughed, "Doesn't matter. What does Ella look like?"

"She's got brown hair, and green eyes... She's just perfect. Oh, I almost forgot, I took a picture of her with my phone."

He got out his phone and showed the picture to Cody. "Oh my God! She is adorable," Cody said. "She looks nothing like you," He added jokingly.

"Funny."

"Seriously though, She is beautiful," Cody shook his head, "I can't believe I'm an uncle. And I can't believe you're a Dad!"

"I know. It's crazy isn't it?"

"Completely. I'm so happy for you both."

"Thanks." Zack paused for a second, then added, "I just realized how much pink is going to be around the house."

Cody laughed, "Good luck with that."

* * *

**I probably could have done this story without this chapter existing, but I wanted to write about Carey's funeral, and I thought, "How can I make something sad into something happy?" And I decided to make it a funeral/birth! So while this chapter isn't really necessary, I still like it! **

**Just like in Shattered, I'm not going to rush this story. Not every chapter will be filled with action. When I first started writing I thought every moment had to be filled with suspense or some kind of drama but I don't feel that way now. That being said, this story will still be scary and hopefully sometimes freak you out... Or at least make you want to know what's gonna happen. **


	2. A New Case

Three Years Later

* * *

Toby quickly walked over to Cody's desk, "We've got a new case!" He said excitedly to Cody.

"Why are you so happy about that?"

"Because we just spent six months on our last case and to be honest I was getting kinda bored with it."

"I'll make sure and tell that to the victims families."

Toby rolled his eyes, "You know I didn't mean it like that. It was just so political. I get bored with political cases. All the politics-" Toby stopped when he noticed Cody laughing, "Why are you laughing?"

"Cause when you say something rude I mention victims families, and you get really nervous trying to explain yourself which causes your nose to flare."

"You're such a jerk," Toby replied, causing Cody to laugh even harder. Toby grabbed his keys, badge, and gun from his desk and began to walk out of the precinct, "You comin'?" He called out to Cody.

Cody jumped up, grabbed his gun and badge, then ran to catch up.

* * *

"Badges please," An officer said to Toby and Cody as they walked up to the driveway. They both flashed their badges and the officer let them under the yellow tape. "I'm Officer Abel Sanchez," He said with a thick Boston accent as he held out his hand for them to shake. Cody and Toby shook his hand and introduced themselves.

"So what do we have?" Toby asked as they walked up to the house.

"Just follow me and I'll show you the crime scene." He led them into the two story brick house. When they went inside they turned left and walked up a big staircase. After getting upstairs they turned left again and went down a long hallway that led to the master bedroom.

"Her husband called in this morning," Abel began, "After finding her this way." There was a young woman laying on a blood soaked bed. She had over seventy visible stab wounds all over her body. "He says he just got back from a business meeting in Chicago this morning."

Toby and Cody put on a pair of gloves. "Do you believe him?" Toby asked.

"Not sure. He seems genuinely upset about it, but I wouldn't rule him out as a suspect."

"What's her name?"

"Sophia Cortal. Her husband owns lots of fast food franchises all over the country."

Toby walked over to the body, "Did anyone else call in claiming they heard something?"

Abel shook his head, "No. It's a big house surrounded by other big houses. It's a very private area. No one really pays attention to anyone else." Abel got a call over his radio to come back outside, "Well, I gotta get back out there. Even though the neighbors aren't nosey, it seems the reporters are. It's getting kinda crazy out there. You guys need anything just let me know."

"Thanks," They both replied.

Cody started looking around the room, taking pictures as he went along, while Toby continued to stare at the body. "Doesn't look like she put up much of a fight," Toby said after a few seconds.

"Maybe she was asleep when it started," Cody replied, "By the time she woke up and realized what was going on, it was to late."

"Hopefully."

"What?"

"I just mean it's better that way then to be completely awake the whole time, or be raped first."

Cody sighed, "Seems pretty horrible to me either way."

Just then the M.E., Stacy, walked into the room, "Hello boys."

"Hey Stacy."

"I will let you know when she died in just a minute," She said as she walked over to the body, "But I guess I won't need to tell you how she died."

"Yeah, that one's pretty obvious," Cody replied. "They seemed like a happy couple," He added as he looked at the pictures of Sophia and her husband. There were four pictures of them on vacation in Hawaii sitting on their dresser.

"Well Cody, looks can be deceiving," Toby said to him as if he were teaching the saying to Cody.

"Really? I can't believe I have been a detective for all these years yet I never knew that. Thanks so much," Cody replied sarcastically.

Stacy cleared her throat, "I hate to break up this little thing you two have going on, but I've got a time of death."

"What time?" Toby asked.

"Eight hours ago." She looked at her watch, "So around 1a.m.."

Cody nodded and wrote the time down on his pad of paper, "Thanks."

"Uh-huh. As soon as you two are done taking pictures let me know, I'll get a couple of my guys up here to help me get the body."

"Okay."

Stacy left and they continued working. "If you're good up here then I'm gonna go talk to Mr. Cortal," Cody said to Toby.

"Oh sure, I love it when you leave me alone with dead people!"

Cody laughed, "Have fun," He called out as he left the room.

* * *

When Cody got downstairs he went to the back of the house. He saw two officers sitting inside the den with another man. _'Must be the husband,'_ Cody thought as he went inside the room.

"Are you Mr. Cortal?" He asked.

The man nodded, he was crying to hard to speak.

Cody turned to the two officers, "Can I have a minute alone with him please?"

The officers got up and left out of the room.

"Mr. Cortal, I know this is a hard time for you, but I need to ask you some questions. Is that okay?"

He wiped the tears from his eyes and cleared his throat, "Yes, that's fine. You can call me David."

"When did you get home this morning David?"

"Around seven thirty."

"Okay, and when did you call the police?"

"Um, a little after eight."

Cody, who had been writing, looked up from his pad of paper, "You waited over thirty minutes to call the police?"

"Sophia always sleeps until eight o'clock every morning. When I get home early in the morning from business trips I either come in the den, or go into the living room and watch TV until eight."

Cody nodded, "Were you and your wife having any problems?"

David glared at Cody, "Excuse me! Are you asking me if I killed my wife?"

"Sir, I'm just doing my job. I need to know if you, or anyone your wife knows, has been angry with her lately."

David rubbed his eyes, "No, me and Sophia weren't having any problems. I don't know anyone who didn't like her. She was an angel," He began to cry again, "We were supposed to go baby shopping today. She was three months pregnant with our first..." His voice trailed off as he cried even harder.

"Mr. Cortal, I am very sorry for your loss. It's never easy to lose someone you love. We will find whoever did this to your wife, I promise." Cody left out of the room as David continued to cry.

* * *

That night Cody drove to Zack's apartment to go out to eat with Zack, Cassie, and Ella.

"I can't believe how big you're getting!" Cody said as Ella ran and jumped into his arms.

"I'm three!" She replied happily.

"I know! You've been three for two weeks now. How does it feel?"

"Big!" She replied with her arms stretched out.

Cody laughed, "How are you Cassie?" He asked as he gave her a hug with his one free arm.

"Good. How are you?"

"Tired, but good too. Where's Zack?"

"Changing. He spilled juice on his shirt right before you got here."

Cody sat down on the couch and Ella sat on his lap, "Some things never change. So what are you two doing for your two year wedding anniversary?"

"Probably watching a little Dora, maybe some Barney," She answered with a laugh.

"Did Zack forget to tell you?" Cody asked.

"Tell me what?"

"I told him to tell you that I would watch Ella for you."

"I swear, if his head wasn't already attached to his body, he'd forget it."

Cody laughed, "Very true."

* * *

After dinner they all came back to the apartment for desert.

"I'll be right back, I gotta change," Zack said as he looked at the spaghetti stain on his shirt.

Cassie went into the kitchen and got out the desert.

"What did you make?" Cody asked from the living room.

"Key lime pie. One hundred percent homemade," She said happily.

"Nice."

"Play with me uncle Cody," Ella begged as she tugged on Cody's pants.

"Okay. What do you want to play?"

"Blocks!"

Zack came out of his room as Ella pulled out her box of blocks, "Yes! I love these things," Zack said happily as he sat on the floor by Cody and Ella.

Cassie came in carrying two pieces of pie and a small bowl of ice cream, "Here you go," She said as she handed Cody and Zack the pie. Then she went over to Ella and handed her the bowl of ice cream.

"Thank you mommy," Ella said as she took a bite.

Cody's cell phone started ringing, he got it out of his pocket and looked at the caller I.D., it was Toby.

"Hello."

"Hey Cody. Sorry to bother ya, but you gotta come meet me. We've got another body."

* * *

**Decided to add another chapter. Don't get comfortable, they won't always come this close together :) haha... I'm so glad y'all are excited to get a sequel to Shattered! I was hoping you guys weren't tired of the story. I love writing Zack and Cody as adults. It's so much fun! Well, I hope you liked the chapter.**


	3. Pictures Of My Boys

_Dreams are in italics and underlined. Thoughts are in italics._ **Flashbacks are in bold.**

* * *

Toby was waiting outside for Cody when he arrived.

"Same as this morning?" Cody asked as they walked into the house.

"Seems like it. Our victim, Donna, didn't seem to fight back much, if at all. She's got over seventy visible stab wounds, and her husband wasn't home at the time of the murder. They had an argument so he took a drive to cool off, when he got back he found her like this," He said as they walked into the bedroom.

"Oh God," Cody said in surprise, "She looks worse than Sophia," He added as he walked over to the body.

Toby nodded, "I know. He stabbed her in the face more than he did Sophia."

"Did you question the husband already?"

"Yeah, that's how I found out about the fight. He said that anytime they had an argument he would go take a drive and she would go to bed. By the time he got home he would realize that he was wrong and apologize," Toby stopped for a second, then added, "I don't think he did it."

"Anyone else angry with her?"

"No. She and her friends were going to go out tomorrow and read books on baby names. She was four months pregnant."

Cody looked at Toby, "Did you just say she was pregnant?"

"Yeah."

"Sophia was pregnant too."

Toby sighed, "Seems like we might have a serial killer."

* * *

Cody finally got to go home at 4a.m.. He could get two hours of sleep before having to get up and go back to work. He went into his bedroom, set his alarm, and got right into bed. He didn't even change out of his clothes. He quickly fell asleep, hoping to take advantage of every second he had.

_"NO! Please don't! STOP!"_

_"Please! You're hurting me!"_

_"Stop! STOP!"_

Cody tossed and turned as his nightmare continued. He could see himself in the dream. He wanted to help himself but there was nothing he could do except watch the pain he had been through years before.

_"One!" James said with a smile as the whip neared Cody's back._

_"AH!"_

_"Two!"_

_"NO!"_

_"Three!"_

_"Stop!"_

_"Four!"_

_"Please!"_

_"Five!"_

_Cody fell to the ground._

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Cody jumped up at the sound of the alarm. He turned off the alarm and wiped the sweat from his face. His heart was pounding and his head felt as if it was about to explode.

He hadn't had a dream like that since James had been put in prison. _'Maybe it's the three years I've waited to see him take his last breath,'_ Cody thought to himself as he got out three aspirin from his cabinet in his kitchen.

* * *

_'God it's just so much fun!'_ He thought to himself as he made his way into the prison.

"Kaleb, You have a visitor," The guard said. Then he opened James's cell, handcuffed him, and led him to another room.

James sat down across from his visitor.

"We'll be fine," The visitor said as the guards stood near James. The guards left the room, standing close by outside of it.

"Who are you?" James asked.

"Doesn't matter. I just wanted to meet you."

"Why?"

"I'm a fan."

"Really?" James asked with little enthusiasm.

"Yes, really. I've read everything about you. I've looked up every victim and read their stories. I must say I don't have the guts to do what you did though. No, I have a different approach."

"Is there a reason I'm here?" James asked.

"Of course," The visitor replied. He was slightly offended by James's tone, but he quickly brushed it off, "I just wanted you to know that I'm out there. I've started picking my victims... Hell, I've even finished off a couple already. Got another ready for tonight if everything goes the way I hope it does."

James laughed, "You have no idea what you're doing you? They aren't victims, they're yours. They're your life. You take time out to care about them. You watch them, you think about them. You love them. Then you kill them because no one else can have them but you. To everyone else they may be victims, but to you they aren't."

He listened in amazement. His eyes shined as if he were a child seeing Disney World for the first time. "That's why I'm here," He replied, "I want to learn from you."

James nodded, "Alright, fine. But I want something in return."

"Anything!"

"Pictures of my boys. All of them. If you can find out their stories then you will be able to find their pictures. You don't have to bring them all at once, just one or two at a time will do. Bring them in and sneak them to me," James smiled, "I need to see their faces again."

* * *

"I have the autopsy results for both Sophia and Donna," Stacy said as she walked in between Toby and Cody's desk. "These are all Sophia's results," She said as she laid the file down on Cody's desk, "And these are Donna's, "She added as she laid Donna's files on Toby's desk. "Both girls were stabbed at least eighty times, possibly more, there is no way for me to get a perfectly accurate count. Neither of them were raped and they were both asleep when the attacks started. If they fought back at all then they didn't do it for very long or hard because neither of them had any hairs or skin underneath their nails or anywhere on their body. I sent some swabs to Maggie last night to see if she could get any DNA from around the stab wounds but I haven't seen her or heard from her on that yet."

"There was nothing," Maggie said as she quickly walked up to Toby, Stacy, and Cody, "Absolutely nothing. I spent all night checking for DNA on almost two hundred swabs but nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!"

"A little over tired are we?" Toby asked her.

"A little? A little! You think?"

"And a little over caffeinated," Cody added.

"Five red bulls and six dr. peppers!" Maggie answered as she turned around and made her way back to her lab.

"So, we've got two bodies," Toby began, "Both women were pregnant, both women were home alone. Neither of them fought back, neither of them have any evidence on them, and we have no idea how he got into the house in the first place... That's just great."

* * *

That night he watched as the cars headlights came on and the man backed out of the driveway.

"Perfect timing," He said to himself.

He got out of his car and made his way to the back of the house. He could see the TV flashing in the living room through the sliding glass door. He walked passed the sliding door and over to the kitchen window. He could get inside the window without ever being seen or heard by the woman.

He quickly and quietly took the screen off of the window and, without any problems, opened the locked window.

He walked through the kitchen and into the living room where he could see the back of the young woman's head lying on the side of her couch. She laughed as she watched her favorite show on TV.

_'This is going to be different,'_ He thought to himself, _'They've always been asleep before... It won't be a problem though.'_

He silently walked up behind her, and the next thing she knew there was a hand over her mouth. He jerked her up and put his other arm around her neck, causing her to slowly go unconscious. She tried to fight back, but she couldn't. Everything happened so fast that she barely had time to react. He laid her on the living room floor, got his freshly cleaned knife out from underneath his blue jeans, and began to stab her over and over again.

Once he was satisfied he made his way out of the house, fixed the kitchen window back the way it was before, and got back into his car without leaving a single trace of himself anywhere.

Just as he had gotten back into his car he saw the headlights again. This time they were pulling back into the driveway. "This is gonna be good," He said to himself as he laughed about what the husband was about to see. He watched as the husband walked into the front door, "Surprise."

* * *

**So, I wrote chapter 3 this afternoon. Then, even as I was writing it, I thought, 'I don't like it. I'm bored and I'm the one writing it!' So, after putting it on document manager I went back and erased everything after Cody had the dream. I re-wrote it and I like it alot more now. I wasn't bored as I wrote it. I hope that you guys weren't bored reading it. Thanks for all the reviews! They mean so much to me. I look forward to reading every single one.**


	4. Ready To Play?

Just as Toby and Cody were getting ready to go home for the night Jimmy came out of his office, "Hang on guys. I just got another call. One more woman has been found. Same M.O. as the other two."

"You're kidding?" An overly tired Toby asked.

"Afraid not."

Cody rubbed his eyes, "We'll, leave now."

"Wait a minute. I know both of you have only had a couple of hours sleep so I want you to go home and rest. Come back tomorrow morning."

Cody looked at Toby then back to Jimmy, "But what about the murder?"

"I'm assigning Anna and myself to the case. I have a feeling this guy isn't close to being finished, so you two are going to need more help. Go home, get some sleep, Anna and I will take care of this one."

"Thank you," They both replied.

Cody got into his car. He tried to start the engine but it wouldn't work. "Come on! You've got to be kidding me!" He said angrily after his third try.

Suddenly there was a knock on his window. He jumped and quickly looked over. "Damnit! You scared me to death!" He said to Toby when he opened up his car door.

Toby laughed, "Car issues?"

"It won't start."

Toby sighed, "Here, give me the keys."

"It's no use. The battery must be dead."

Toby held out his hand waiting for the keys.

Cody rolled his eyes, "Fine!" He groaned as he handed over the keys.

Toby got into Cody's car, put the keys in, then quickly and easily started the car, "Wow, that was really hard," Toby said sarcastically.

"But... I just.. I..."

"Are you okay?" Toby asked as he got back out of Cody's car.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"I've been working with you for a long time now. I know when something's up."

"I'm just tired."

Toby knew there was something else but he decided to drop it, "Uh-huh. Well, I'll see you in a few hours."

"Okay. Thanks for the help."

"No problem."

* * *

When he got back to his house he turned on the eleven o'clock new. He sat down in his reclining chair and watched as a young reporter discussed the murders. Murders that he had committed. He smiled as he heard about the women being pregnant, _'That's my thing,'_ He thought to himself proudly, _'That's how they'll always know it's me. It's my trademark.'_

* * *

Cody laid down in bed. He tried to go to sleep but his mind kept going back and forth between two thoughts. One minute he'd be thinking about the case, then he'd start to think about the dream he had earlier. _'Who would do that to happily married, pregnant women? Who would do that to anyone? Why am I thinking about this right now? Go to sleep Cody! Sleep... Dreaming... What if I have that dream again? It's been so long since I had them, why would they come back now? It's just a dream! Go to sleep!'_

Finally, about a half hour later, Cody fell asleep.

_Cody was suddenly trapped in the same room he had been kidnapped in years before._

_"Hello my Cody."_

_"Wha... What am I doing here? You're in prison. They put you in prison!"_

_"Do you remember our first time? You were so special to me. You were mine and no one else could have you."_

_"I was never yours! You took me and you raped me! You beat me up and you tried to kill me and my brother!"_

_"I'm a serial killer Cody. If I wanted to kill you I would have, but I didn't."_

_James walked closer to Cody and put his hand on Cody's face, touching his cheek as he had years before._

_"Don't touch me!" Cody yelled. He tried to move but he couldn't._

_James smiled and began unbuttoning Cody's shirt, "You can't get away Cody. I'll always be here. Forever!"_

"NO!" Cody woke up yelling. When he realized that he was in his own apartment he quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked at his watch, it was 3a.m.. He laid back down and tried to fall back asleep but he couldn't, he was too scared to even close his eyes. So he got out of bed, got dressed, and went back into work.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Anna asked when Cody walked into the precinct.

"Couldn't sleep. How's the case going?"

"We just got back. I was looking over your and Toby's reports from the other two crime scenes and they are identical to the one Jimmy and I were at. We definitely have a serial killer, and a good one at that. Whoever it is knows how to get in and out of the house without leaving and shoe prints, blood trail, hairs, anything. And they know how to stab someone multiple times yet, again, leave apparently without any blood on themselves. They're quick and they are completely disconnected from their killings. It's like there's a different reason for why they're doing this."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like I said, he's disconnected and quick. Most serial killers take their precious time with their victims. You know what I mean?"

Cody sighed, "Oh yeah."

Anna realized how dumb that question was, _'Of course he knows,'_ She thought to herself, _'He was kidnapped by a serial killer.'_

"Um, you wanna go get something to eat?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"It's 3:30 in the morning."

"I know, but I'm hungry."

Cody laughed, "Let's go."

* * *

Once they had sat down and ordered their food Cody brought the case back up, "So, did you have to deal with the "wonderful" reporters tonight?"

"Oh God yes! They are so annoying! I mean I know they're doing their jobs, but I wish they just... Wouldn't... Anyway, I need a change of subject. What's going on with you?"

Cody shrugged, "Not much of anything. I'm gonna be taking care of Ella on Zack and Cassie's anniversary, and that pretty much sums up my personal life. You?"

"I uh, I got engaged."

Cody's eyes widened, "Seriously? To who?"

"Walter."

"You're kidding," Cody replied as his face fell.

Anna shook her head, "He proposed a few nights ago."

"And you said yes?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

"Uh, I don't know, because he's a jerk!"

"He is not. He's just... Misunderstood."

Cody gave Anna a 'oh please' look, "Within the first hour of meeting him he insulted me six times."

"It wasn't six times!"

Should we recap? Number one-"

Anna stopped him, "Wait, wait! Okay, maybe he is a little outspoken but he loves me and he cares about me."

"Where's your ring?"

"He hasn't bought it yet... But he will. Now say congratulations and change the subject back to you."

"Congratulations," Cody replied, trying to sound as meaningful as he could. He sat silently for a few seconds. He wasn't sure if he should bring up the dreams, but he wanted to tell someone.

"I've... I've been having those nightmares again."

"The ones about James?"

Just then their waitress returned bringing their food. Once she left they began talking again.

"Yeah," Cody replied, "I've had two. It's the first ones I've had since he was put in prison."

"Did something happen to make you start thinking about him again?"

Cody sighed, "I wish. At least that would give me some explanation."

"Do you need me to stay with you for a while? I don't mind."

Cody smiled, "No, I'll be fine. Besides you'll be busy planning a wedding with Walter!"

Anna reached across the table and put her hand on Cody's arm, "Seriously Cody, if you ever need me, I'm always here."

* * *

That evening, after taking James a couple of pictures and talking with him for a while, he drove to the house of his next victim. It would be his last for a few days as he decided it would be best for him to calm down.

After stabbing his victim one last time he took a picture out of his back pocket. On the back of the picture he had written the words 'Ready to play?'. He laid it down next to the victim and left.

* * *

** I wasn't going to write today, but I suddenly got in the mood! Don't worry, Zack will be back. I was going to put him in this chapter but I didn't want to force him in a chapter where he didn't really belong. There was just no place to fit it in. Anyway, we will hear from him soon. **

**So, as I was writing this chapter I started to write about James and his execution, then I remembered that in my last story I figured out that in Massachusetts they don't have the death penalty, so I fixed it:) No major changes though. It was just going to be a little sentence about it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading and reviewing.**


	5. You're Off The Case

It was nine o'clock the next morning when Toby got the call about another victim. Cody, Anna, Toby and Jimmy all went to the house together.

"Hey guys," Officer Abel Sanchez said as he met them outside, "Sorry to see you two again," He said as he looked at Cody and Toby, "And, I don't think I've met you two," He added when he turned to Anna and Jimmy.

They introduced themselves and made their way into the house.

"You guys got here quick," Abel began, "No one has even gotten inside yet." He opened the front door, which led right into the living room, where the woman's lifeless body was lying on the couch.

"This never gets easier," Toby said as he neared the body.

"Her husband was gone for the last three days visiting his family in Maine. When he got back this morning, this is, unfortunately, what he found," Abel heard the reporters starting to yell outside, "I gotta get back out there. Those people are like animals."

Abel left, then Jimmy and Anna began searching all around the house looking for clues that they would never find.

Cody was taking pictures of the body when he noticed something next to her hand, "What's that?" He asked Toby, who was closer to the body.

Toby looked where Cody was pointing. He picked up the picture and read the back, "'Ready to play?' That's what's written on it," He turned it over, "Oh boy."

"What is it?" Cody asked.

"You," He answered as he showed the picture to Cody.

* * *

"You're off the case," Jimmy said to Cody when they had gotten back to the precinct. Toby and Anna were in Jimmy's office with Cody and, of course, Jimmy.

"What? You've got to be kidding me!"

"Cody, he's after you. I can't risk you being on this case any longer."

"But boss, he wrote 'Ready to play' which means that this is a game to him."

"And your point?"

"Well, maybe if this was at the first crime scene then we should be worried by now, but because it wasn't until the fourth, it means he's just getting started. I mean, think about it, if he wanted just anyone then why wasn't Toby's, Anna's, or your picture there?"

Jimmy sat down in his chair, "Maybe he's saving us for later."

"Or maybe he's just pissed off at me for some reason. Look, all I'm saying is to wait a while. Let me stay on the case for now and if things get worse then take me off."

Toby agreed, "He makes a point. I can stay with him during the day at work and we can have police cars surveying the area around his house."

"I agree. It does seem as if this is a game to our killer," Anna added, "And if he is only after Cody, then whether Cody is on the case or not isn't going to matter."

Jimmy thought for a moment, then sighed, "Okay. This is against my better judgement, but you make a good case. However, if you get a lead, you do not leave this precinct without Anna, Toby, or myself accompanying you. Understand?"

Cody nodded, "Yes sir."

"And, every day before you get inside your house, a police officer will be checking it and making sure no one is inside. They will also be doing random drive-bys throughout the day."

"Boss, I'll be fine."

"You're acting as if you have a say in this. It's either the random drive-bys and checking of the house, or you're off the case. You choose."

"Ugh! Fine."

Jimmy smiled, "That's what I thought."

Cody, Toby, and Anna remained standing in Jimmy's office. Jimmy looked at each of them, "Well what are you still doing here? Get to work!"

* * *

It was 5:30p.m. when Cody got off of work. He went to a near-by grocery store and picked up some of Ella's favorite foods and drinks, plus a box of cupcake mix for him and Ella to make together. When he got home, after his house was checked, he quickly put his things away and got a shower. He finished getting ready seconds before his doorbell rang.

"Uncle Cody!" Ella squealed when he opened the door. She wrapped her arms around his legs giving him a big hug.

"Hey Ella-bear!" He replied happily as he picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Come on in," He said to Zack and Cassie as he moved out of their way.

"I'm gonna put her milk in the fridge," Cassie said as she made her way into Cody's kitchen.

Cody put Ella down and she began playing with her toy cars that she always kept at Cody's house.

"How's work going?" Cody asked Zack as they sat down on the couch.

"Insane as always. Every year the kids seem to get worse and worse. I mean, I get that their juvenile delequints, so I don't expect them to be angels, but it just seems like they should be able to listen. Is that to much to ask?"

Cody laughed, "Apparently it is."

Cassie came into the room and sat down by Ella.

"How's work for you?" Zack asked.

"Crazy right now."

"Yeah, we heard about the serial killer on the news," Cassie said, "Is it true that he's only targeting pregnant women?"

Cody nodded, "Seems so... Well, you two better go. Me and Ella have alot of things to do."

Cassie and Zack headed to the door, "Now, she's already had her shower, she just needs to be changed into her pajamas. It's seven now and she's used to going to bed by nine. We'll be back by ten. If she gets cranky it usually means that she is wanting her milk. I put her sippy cups on your counter a-"

Cody smiled and cut her off, "We'll be fine. I've watched her before remember? And every time we go through the same thing."

"I know, I know."

Cassie and Zack left the apartment, "Something's wrong with him," Zack said as they walked to the car.

Cassie was confused, "What?"

"Something's bothering Cody, I can tell."

"He seemed fine to me."

"I'll talk to him later," Zack said as he shooed the thought from his mind, "Let's go enjoy our anniversary."

Cassie smiled, "Sounds good."

* * *

Cody was sitting on the couch holding a peacefully sleeping Ella in his arms. He took his finger and wiped off the remaining icing on her cheek. He smiled, _'How did that get there?'_ He thought to himself, _'I know I cleaned it all off.'_

He looked at his watch, it was 9:58p.m.. He knew that soon enough Cassie and Zack would be knocking at the door. He slowly got up and took Ella back to his room. He laid her on the bed and cracked the door so their knocking wouldn't wake her up.

He got all of her things together and laid them on his living room couch. Then there was a knock on the door. He looked at his watch again, _'Perfect timing,'_ He thought.

"Hey," He whispered as he opened the door. Cassie and Zack came inside.

"How was Ella?" Cassie asked.

"Perfect. We made cupcakes, played with cars, played with play-doh, then I changed her into her pajamas and she fell asleep watching Winnie the Pooh. I just laid her down on my bed."

"Thank you so much Cody," Cassie said with a smile.

"Anytime."

"Cody, can I talk to you for a second?" Zack asked.

"Sure."

"I'm... Gonna go watch Ella sleep," Cassie said, knowing what Zack wanted to talk about.

Cody and Zack sat on the couch, "You're having the nightmares again aren't you?" Zack asked bluntly.

Cody was surprised, "Uh... How did you know?"

"I can tell. When did it start?"

"Do we really need to talk about this now? It's late an-"

"Yes we do," Zack interrupted, "When did it start?"

"Not long ago. I've had two so far."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because there's nothing to tell. It's just dreams."

"There's something else bothering you too."

Now Cody was getting annoyed, "God, what are you, psychic?"

Zack stared at Cody waiting for Cody to tell him what was wrong.

Cody rolled his eyes, "Ugh... I may, possibly, have a serial killer after me," He said as if he were talking about something that happened every day, "No big deal."

Zack's eyes widened, "What? No big deal? Are you kidding me?"

"Well, it's not a big deal yet. And don't worry, if I thought he was going to do something now I would have never of let Ella stay here with me. No, whoever it is, is just getting started."

"Well, why aren't you in a safehouse or something?"

"Cause, like I said, this guy is just getting started. If he's gonna try and kill me, it's not going to be for a while."

Zack wasn't sure what to say, "Well, I uh... I hope you're right?" He said as more of a question then a statement.

* * *

The next morning Jimmy had just sat down at his office when he received a phone call.

"Boston Police Detective's Office, Jimmy speaking."

"Hey Jim, it's Dan from the state prison."

"Oh hey Dan! I haven't heard from you in a while."

"I know. We need to get together sometime and catch up."

"That would be great. So, what did you call for?"

Dan sighed, "I've got a prisoner here that says he knows something about The Birth Controller."

"The who?" Jimmy asked in confusion.

"The Birth Controller. That's what they are calling your serial killer on the news."

Jimmy couldn't help but let out a small laugh, "Wow, that's one interesting nickname they thought up."

"Yeah, well I thought you might like to talk to him."

Jimmy thought for a second, "Usually I would say no, but right now I have no other leads. I'll be right there."

* * *

Jimmy met up with Dan when he got to the prison, "I have him waiting back here," He said as he and Jimmy made their way down a long hallway. At the end of the hallway was a thick door, he opened the door and entered a small room with a desk and two chairs. There were guards lined up all around the room.

When Jimmy saw who was sitting in one of the chairs he couldn't believe it.

"Happy to see me?" James asked with a smile.

"You've got to be kidding me," Jimmy replied.

"You two know each other?" Dan asked.

"Oh yes," James replied.

"Can you give us a minute?" Jimmy asked as he looked at Dan.

"Sure."

"Oh, and the guards can go too," Jimmy added.

"Are you sure?" Dan asked.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay, I'll have two guards waiting outside the door in case you need them."

Jimmy nodded, "Okay."

Dan and the guards left, leaving Jimmy alone with James, "Why are you wasting my time?" Jimmy asked as he sat down in the other chair.

"Who said I'm waisting your time?" James asked, "You haven't even heard what I have to say."

"Then say it."

James slowly shook his head, "No, no, no, I won't tell you."

"Excuse me?"

"I will only speak to one person."

"And who would that be?"

James smiled again, "My Cody of course."

Jimmy laughed and got up from his seat, "Yeah, not gonna happen," He said as he knocked on the door for the guards to open it.

"This is a game you can't win without me Jimmy," James said as the door opened, "He's come to me, he's told me what he wants to do."

Although Jimmy heard what James was saying he ignored him and began walking down the hallway.

"Bring Cody to me or someone will die Jimmy!" James yelled as Jimmy continued down the hallway. The guard closed the door back, leaving James inside the room as he continued to yell.

"Someone will die!"

* * *

**At the crime scenes I no longer write about them putting on their gloves cause I figure that's a given. They've all been working as detectives for a long time so they know to put on their gloves haha... Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I think it is one of my favorites so far. Thank you all for your reviews! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)**

**P.S.- I meant to update earlier but I spent the night with my sister over the weekend so I didn't have a chance until today. Happy Labor Day everyone! haha**


	6. I Don't Believe You

When Jimmy got back to the precinct he was so upset that he didn't even notice Maggie trying to get his attention. He walked straight to his office, slamming the door behind him.

She looked at Cody, "You wanna knock on his door for me?"

"Uh, I think I'll pass."

Maggie then turned to Toby, "How about you?"

Toby laughed, "Yeah right! You're on your own."

"And you call yourselves detectives," She mumbled with a glare as she passed by their desks and walked over to Jimmy's office door.

She knocked twice and braced herself for the loud response she would most likely hear.

"What!" Jimmy yelled.

_'Knew it,'_ She thought as she opened his door, "Sir, I just wanted to let you know that I didn't find any fingerprints on the picture. I also didn't find any foreign DNA from the swabs Stacy sent to me."

"So you have nothing?" He asked angrily.

"I'm sorry Sir."

Jimmy suddenly slammed his hands down on his desk, "That bastard!" He yelled.

Maggie's eyes widened as she jumped, she knew he was mad, but she didn't expect that.

Jimmy noticed the scared expression on Maggie's face. He took a deep breath, "I'm sorry Maggie, it's just been a long morning."

Maggie nodded, "I understand."

"Thank you for letting me know."

Without another word Maggie turned around and left out of the room.

* * *

After allowing himself a few hours to calm down Jimmy called Anna and Toby into his office.

"Something wrong Boss?" Toby asked.

"Only everything," Jimmy replied, "Close the door please Anna, then both of you take a seat."

"Uh, we're not getting fired are we?" Toby asked as Anna closed the door, "Cause I swear I thought that lawyer was in to me, that's the only reason I asked her for her number..."

"Toby," Jimmy said, trying to stop him, but it didn't work.

"And she was the one that slapped me!"

"Toby," Jimmy said again.

"Now, I don't know what she did," Toby continued as he pointed to Anna, who was already sitting down, "But I..."

"Toby!" Jimmy yelled one last time, "You're not fired... That is you're not fired unless you don't sit down and shut up!"

"Yes, sir," A relieved Toby replied as he took a seat.

"This morning I got a call," Jimmy began, "From a friend of mine who works at the state prison. He told me that one of the prisoners said they had some information about our serial killer. Usually I'd just ignore it but since we had no leads I figured, why not?"

"What did he want in return for the info? A reduced sentence?" Anna asked.

"No."

"Extra time outside?"

"Nope."

"You mean he just told you what you wanted to know?"

Jimmy shook his head, "Cody."

"What?" Toby asked confused.

"He wants Cody. The man who said he had information was James."

Toby and Anna were both silent in shock for a moment.

"You... You don't believe him do you?" Anna said when she finally came back to reality.

Jimmy sighed, "I wouldn't but..." His voice trailed off as Toby finished the sentence for him.

"But you do."

Anna was still lost, "I don't understand."

"If we hadn't found a picture of Cody at the last crime scene then no, I wouldn't believe him for a second. But the fact that we did find the picture and right afterwards I get a call about James... I don't know, there's just something in me that says I should believe him."

"He wouldn't tell you anything?" Toby asked.

"Just that people would die if I didn't have Cody come talk to him."

Anna sighed, "Well this just keeps gettin' better and better."

* * *

Cody walked away from the outside of Jimmy's office door. He had been listening the entire time. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. His heart was pounding and his head soon began pounding as well. He sat down at his desk, _'How would he know anything about our case?'_ Cody thought to himself, _'And why will he only tell what he knows if he talks to me? Why didn't Jimmy call me into his office? Is he ever going to tell me about this? Should I do it? Should I go talk to James? I don't know if I could even look at his face.'_

"Cody!" Toby called out bringing Cody out of his trance.

"What?" Cody asked.

"I called your name like a hundred times. What were you thinking?"

"Nothing, it was nothing."

"Nothing?" Toby asked in disbelief, "I've been standing right beside you for like three minutes calling your name and you didn't even notice I was here. Your eyes were darting back and forth and you weren't blinking."

"I said it was nothing," Cody said, trying to brush it off.

"I don't believe you."

"I don't care," Cody replied as he got up from his desk and walked to the bathroom. Toby followed closely behind.

Cody turned around right as the bathroom door closed behind them, "What, you wanna watch me pee?" He asked as, visibly annoyed.

"You don't have to pee, you just went like twenty minutes ago."

"And you know this how?"

"Because you got up from your desk and walked into the bathroom."

Cody glared at Toby, "Maybe I have to go again."

"Bull! You have a schedule planned for everything, including bathroom breaks!"

Just then someone flushed one of the toilets and came out of the stall. He washed his hands as he listened to Toby and Cody argue.

"The last time I checked I wasn't married!" Cody yelled.

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"You're acting like you're my wife!"

Toby seemed offended by the comment, but not in the way he should have been, "Oh please! If we were married you would totally be the wife!"

Just then they both noticed the man who was standing there, staring at them, "What!" They both yelled. The man quickly made his way around Toby and Cody and headed out of the bathroom.

"Just drop it!" Cody said angrily.

"No, I will not drop it! I would not be the wife!"

"That's not what I'm talking about you idiot!"

"Then tell me what your problem is!"

"No!"

They both stood there silently for a few minutes. All they did was stare at each other as if they were competing in a staring contest.

Suddenly Toby realized what the problem was, "You heard didn't you?"

"Heard what? The little conversation that you, Anna, and Jimmy were all having? The one about our case? The case that you, Anna, Jimmy, and I are all working on? The conversation that mainly had to do with me? Is that what you're talking about?"

Not realizing that Cody had just confirmed it with all of his sarcastic questions, Toby asked, "So, you did hear it?"

"Of course I heard it! When were you all planning on telling me?"

"Cody, we didn't want to bother you with it until we were sure James even had any information. For all we know he could be lying."

"But I heard Jimmy say that he believed him. Someone's gonna die if I don't go talk him."

"We're detectives Cody. There's always a risk of someone dying. We'll catch this son of a bitch without that son of a bitch."

Cody grinned at Toby's comment but the grin quickly faded, "We have no leads, no suspects, no anything. Four women are dead and the only thing we can tell their families is "I'm sorry we have no new information". What if talking to him is our only chance?"

"You've been here long enough to know that there is always another way to get information."

Cody sighed, "I really don't want to see his face, Toby." Tears formed in Cody's eyes. He tried to hide it from Toby, but Toby could tell.

"Then you won't."

* * *

That evening Cody was getting ready to get in his car and go home when he noticed Anna standing near the road.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he came up behind her.

She turned around, "Waiting."

"For?"

"Walter. He dropped me off this morning. He was supposed to pick me up-" She paused to look at her watch, "Forty-two minutes ago."

"He's quite the reliable man isn't he?" Cody asked sarcastically.

Anna glared at Cody then turned her attention back to the road, "He probably got busy at work."

"Yeah, cause we all know how demanding a plumbers job is."

"It is more demanding then you think."

Cody could tell that now was not the time for jokes, "Did you want me to drive you?"

Anna turned to Cody, "No thanks. He'll be here soon."

"But what if he's not? Just call him and tell him you got a ride home."

"That's unnecessary," Another male voice interrupted.

"Walter! I didn't hear you drive up," Anna said nervously.

"Of course you didn't," He replied with a smirk, "You were busy talking to Cory."

"It's Cody, with a D," Cody replied, "So how have you been Walt?" He asked through the passenger side window.

"It's Walter, and I've been just great."

Cody looked at the van Walter was driving. It was his plumbing van, "How's the plumbing thing going?"

"I probably get paid more tips in one week then you get paid all month."

"Wow!" Cody said sarcastically as Anna got into the van, "That's great. I bet you feel so satisfied at the end of the day when you have all that crap on your shoes. That smell lets you know that you helped someone. That's the same feeling I get when I catch a murderer, rapist, kidnapper, etc.."

"We really need to go Walter," Anna interrupted, "It's getting late."

"She's right, I had a long day," Walter said as he stared at Cody.

"I can tell. I mean it's almost eight o'clock and your van says you work from eight to six every day. I'm surprised you made it here in such good time."

"Cody," Anna interrupted again, "I will see you tomorrow. Let's go Walter."

"Good night Anna," Cody said with a sincere smile. Then he looked at Walter and added, "Great catching up with you Walt."

Walter rolled his eyes as he pressed his foot down on the gas pedal causing the van to screech as it sped down the road.

* * *

_Cody looked around the dark room, squinting his eyes in hope that he could see something. He tried to move but quickly realized his wrists and ankles were bound to the chair he was sitting in. His heart began racing when he heard someone laugh._

_"Who... Who's there?" He asked nervously._

_Suddenly a light flashed on. There was James, standing right next to the light switch. "Hello my Cody," He said with a smile as he walked closer to Cody._

_Cody tried as hard as he could to get out from the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles._

_"I wouldn't bother with it, you can't get free," James said as he stood right in front of Cody. He bent over and began unbuttoning Cody's shirt._

_Cody's heart was now beating so fast that he felt as if it were going to pop out of his chest._

_"What... What are you doing?"_

_"Teaching you a lesson."_

_"Why?"_

_"For not listening to me."_

_After removing Cody's shirt James walked out of the room, only to return seconds later carrying the whip that Cody knew all too well._

_Cody began to panic, "No, no, no, no, no..." He kept repeating as tears fell from his eyes._

_"Ready to have some fun?" James asked as he took the whip and swung it forward, hitting Cody's stomach._

_"One!"_

"Stop!" Cody woke up screaming as he held onto his stomach. He could feel the pain of the whip all over his body as if it had actually happened.

He got up and went into his bathroom. He turned on the light then put his back towards the mirror and looked at the scars that still covered his back. He counted, _'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.'_ He continued staring at the scars until he suddenly got a horrible pain in his neck. He realized that it was probably the awkward position that his head was in so he left out of the bathroom and went into the kitchen for some aspirin.

Realizing that it was pointless to even try and fall back asleep he laid on his couch and turned on the TV.

* * *

"I've got something!" Toby yelled out at one o'clock the next afternoon.

"What?" Cody asked as he walked over to Toby's desk.

"Gregory Palmer. He's gone to the prison to visit James three times this past month. I've got his address right here," He said as he copied the address off of the computer and onto a piece of paper, "Go get the car, I'll meet you out there. We may have found our killer."

* * *

**I'm enjoying writing this more and more! I love the banter between Toby and Cody. Toby is kind of the comedic relief this story (not to say that he can't be serious) and I really enjoy writing for him. Heck, I enjoy writing for them all! I hope you guys are enjoying reading it :). I wanted to update sooner but I could never seem to find the time to write (which annoys me). But today I finally had the time! Anyway, please review! I like knowing if you guys are enjoying the story... The reviews motivate me. They keep me going. Thank you all so much! You are all a blessing to me:)**


	7. Sweet Memories

Toby knocked on Gregory Parker's door three times and waited for him to answer.

"You think he's our guy?" Cody asked.

"He's all we got right now."

Cody and Toby put their hands on their holstered guns as the door slowly opened, "I don't want to be a Jehovah's Witness," Greg said then he began to slam the door shut.

Cody quickly put his hand out to stop the door from shutting, "We're not Jehovah's Witnesses sir. I'm Detective Cody Martin and this is my partner Toby Snow," He said as both he and Toby flashed their badges, "Are you Gregory Parker?"

"Yes, I am Greg. Would you like to come in?" Greg said as he opened the door up and stepped out of the way.

"Thank you."

Greg led them through part of the house, "Please, have a seat in the living room. It's right through here."

Toby and Cody sat on the couch while Greg took a seat in a nearby chair, "Sorry about almost slamming the door in your face. What can I help you with?"

Cody and Toby both looked at each other. They were both wondering why this guy didn't seem phased about two detectives randomly coming to his house.

"Are you familiar with Kaleb Zemp?" Toby asked.

"Uh, I can't say that I am. Why?"

"You visited him in prison three times this past month."

Greg thought for a moment, "Kaleb Zemp... Kaleb Zemp. Oh yes! I know who you're talking about. He goes by James right?"

Cody nodded, "That would be him."

"Yes, I don't know how I forgot that bastards name. "

"Uh, could you tell me why you went to visit James?"

"I'm a writer. I'm working on a book right now about some of America's worst serial killers. I went to talk to James because a section of the book is about him. Usually I make five visits to the people I'm writing about, but after three I just couldn't take it anymore."

"That bad?" Toby asked.

"I've written six books. All of them about either serial killers or serial rapists. I have personally talked to every person in my books, but never have I ever met a man as horrifying as James. His attention to detail is amazingly terrifying. He remembers everything about every victim..."

Cody was starting to squirm, _'Maybe I shouldn't have come,'_ He thought to himself as he continued to listen to Greg.

"I must admit that I didn't know much about him before I went to see him. I don't like looking people up online because God only knows what kind of lies you'll read. He remembers every moment he had with each of his victims. And the way he talked about them... Like he was in love with them. It was sickening."

Cody suddenly stood and got his phone out of his pocket, "Sorry, I gotta take this," He said as he quickly made his way out of the house.

* * *

Cody was sitting in the car waiting when Toby exited the house ten minutes later.

"He's not our guy," Toby said with a sigh as he sat down in the car, "So, who called?"

"Nobody," Cody said as he began to drive off, "And I don't wanna talk about it," He added before Toby had the chance to speak.

Toby nodded, "Okay. Well, the reason Greg wasn't surprised about us is because he gets visited by detectives quite a bit. Since he talks to the serial killers and rapists that are in his books, detectives often come to him for information."

"Yeah, I figured that was the reason," Cody replied, "So now, we're back to square one."

* * *

It was ten o'clock when Cody got home from a long days work. He took a shower, brushed his teeth, then got right into bed. He was so tired from the long days and lack of sleep that he knew he would sleep very well tonight.

* * *

Cody slowly woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. At first he thought it was his alarm, "It's already morning?" He groaned as he hit his 'Alarm Off' button. When the ringing didn't stop he realized it was his phone.

"Oh crap!" He said as he jumped up out of his bed and ran to the phone in his kitchen.

"Hello," He answered quickly.

"Cody!" A distraught Anna said when she heard Cody's voice.

"Did I over sleep? It still looks dark outside."

"It's 1a.m.."

Cody could now tell that she was crying, "Anna, what's wrong?" He asked.

"I didn't know who else to call. Please come over."

"Anna, tell me what happened," He demanded as he searched for his car keys, "Why are you crying?"

"Wal... Walter got angry and... He-" She couldn't finish because she was crying to hard.

Cody finally found his keys, "I'm coming right now Anna, okay? Everything's gonna be fine."

"I didn't mean to make him angry," She said pitifully.

Cody hated to hear her sad, "Anna, don't worry. I'll be right there. I'm gonna have to hang up because this is my house phone okay?"

"Okay. Please hurry Cody."

"I will. I promise." Cody was about to leave the house when he realized he was only wearing pajama bottoms. He quickly ran to his room, threw on a pair of pants and a t-shirt, then grabbed his jacket as he left out the door.

* * *

When he got to her apartment complex he quickly ran to her door, "It's me Anna. It's Cody," He said as he knocked.

A few seconds later she slowly opened the door. He gasped when he saw her bruised face, "Oh my God."

"Come in," She said quietly as tears filled her eyes.

Once he was inside she closed the door then turned around to see him standing just a few steps away, staring at her.

"Walter did this to you?" He asked, trying to remain calm.

She nodded, then looked down at the floor. She was too embarrassed to look him in the eyes.

His heart was breaking. Part of him wanted to hold her in his arms, but the other part wanted to beat Walter up. He knew he needed to keep his temper down while he talked to her, "What happened?" He asked calmly.

She walked over to the couch and sat down. Cody followed close behind, noticing the mess around the house where a glass, a vase, and a lamp had been broken.

"We were talking," She began as she cried. She remained looking down, "Just talking... Then he started mentioning all these friends that I didn't know about, so... So I asked him who they were-" She stopped to wipe the tears off of her face, then continued, "He said that he met them at this club called Body Talk. I got angry because I know that Body Talk is a strip club. I told him that I didn't want him to go there anymore... But he said that it was his life and he could do what he wanted. I told him... I said that if he was going to keep going there then we were through because I don't think that's right. That's when he threw the glass-" She couldn't finish. She felt so ashamed of what had happened.

Cody moved closer to her on the couch and placed his arm around her, "Look at me Anna," He said softly. She slowly lifted her head and met her eyes with his, "None of this is your fault. None of it. You don't have to tell me any more if you don't want to."

She took a deep breath, "I... I need too," She replied, "After he threw the glass across the room he slapped me. At first I didn't know what to do. I was in shock, I think. Then he hit me again, this time it wasn't just a slap. That's why I have the black eye," Tears streamed down her face, but she kept calm, "I tried to run out the door but he grabbed me and pushed me against the wall, which is when the vase broke," She pulled off the sweater she was wearing to show him the bruise on her arm. He clenched his jaw to keep himself calm as she continued, "My back hurts too so I probably have a bruise there, I haven't looked yet though."

Cody pointed to the broken lamp lying on the floor, "What about that?"

"He threw that right before he left. I was on the floor, trying to catch my breath after he pushed me, and he just picked it up and threw it. Then he grabbed his keys and left."

"When did all this happen?"

"About two and a half hours ago. I sat here for a while before calling you. I was crying so hard then that I probably couldn't have spoken if I had called any earlier."

There was a few seconds of silence before Anna started bawling, " I... Was... So... Scared," She cried out, trying to catch her breath between each word.

Cody wrapped his arms around her and she laid her head on his chest, "It's okay, it's okay," He said as he comforted her, "He won't hurt you again, I promise. He'll never touch you again."

Not even a minute later he noticed that her breathing had calmed and she was no longer crying. He took his hand and brushed away the hair that covered her face. That's when he saw that she had fallen fast asleep in his arms. He didn't want to wake her so he slowly leaned back on the couch to get comfortable.

_'That son of a bitch!'_ He thought as he looked around the apartment, _'How could he ever hurt her? How could any man ever hurt a woman? He'll regret it! I'll make sure of it.'_

* * *

Jimmy walked out of his office, "It's just you and me today Toby," He said as he walked over to Toby's desk, "Anna has the day off, and Cody just called me to say that he's not feeling well."

"Really? That sucks."

Jimmy glared at Toby.

"Oh!" Toby exclaimed when he realized what he said, "I don't mean it sucks that I have to work with you... It just sucks that Cody's sick... That's what I meant," He said with a nervous smile.

"Uh-huh. Well, we gotta go. I just got a call from Officer Sanchez, another body was found."

* * *

"Wha' do we got?" Toby asked Abel as they walked into the house.

"Same as all the others. She was stabbed dozens of times." Abel sighed, "I gotta say, I was hopin' for this guy to be done. I figured since he was killing them so fast then it stopped for a while, I thought that maybe he got bored and quit or somethin'."

"Yeah, unfortunately that doesn't happen," Jimmy said as they walked up the stairs.

"She's got something in her hand, but I didn't let anyone touch her. Figured you guys would want us to wait." He led them to the door, "Right in there," He said as he stood back, letting them inside the room.

"Thanks," Toby replied as he passed by.

"Like before, let me know if you need anything," Abel called back as he headed downstairs.

Jimmy walked over to the body, and after taking a few pictures he picked up the paper that was in the womans hand. "It's another picture," he said as he unfolded it. This time it was a picture of Cody from when he was kidnapped. It was a screen shot of when he was being recorded in James house. Cody was lying on James's bed, with his head turned to the side.

Jimmy shook his head, "Oh God."

"What is it?" Toby asked as he walked over to Jimmy.

Jimmy showed the picture to Toby. Toby felt sick to his stomach. He knew that moment all to well. He had to watch it just a few years earlier when he and Anna were going through all of James's tapes.

"Is there anything on the back?" Toby asked.

Jimmy turned the picture over and read, "Sweet memories."

* * *

After Cody had called in sick he told Anna that he was gonna go pick up some of his things and stay with her for a while. She tried to tell him she would be fine but he was insistent. It was either she stayed with him, or he stayed with her. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she was scared and she didn't want to be alone. She decided that it would be better for him to stay with her.

When he got to his house he packed some of his things in a bag. Then he quickly got on his computer, typed Walter's name in the white pages, and found his address.

Before going back to Anna's place he decided he would take a detour. He pulled up to the small house that Walter lived in. He took a couple of deep breath before getting out of his car and knocking on the door.

At first there was no answer, but Cody knew he was home, so he kept knocking.

"Hold on!" Walter yelled. A few seconds later he opened the door. A sudden rush of anger filled through Cody's body and before Walter could speak, or slam the door in his face, Cody punched him in the eye.

"What the hell!" Walter yelled.

Not feeling satisfied Cody decided to kick him between his legs. Walter dropped to the floor in pain.

"You jackass!" Walter yelled.

"It doesn't feel good does it?" Cody asked angrily. He bent down next to Walter and grabbed him by his shirt, "You listen to me, if you ever come near Anna again I'll kill you. You understand?"

Walter tried to get up and fight back but Cody slammed him back down on the ground, causing Walter to yelp in pain.

"I said do you understand?" Cody asked again through gritted teeth.

Walter nodded.

"What was that?"

"I... I won't bother her."

"That's what I thought." Cody got up, leaving an injured Walter lying on the floor, "You're just lucky I forgot my gun," He said as he left.

* * *

**There were two other versions of how this chapter would go. I wrote one yesterday and I just didn't like it, so I rewrote it and I still didn't like it. Then I completely changed what I was going to do and decided on this! I like how this one turned out. I really wanted to update sooner but September is a crazy month for my family. Tomorrow (The 15th) we're having my nephews 5th birthday party, then the 16th (which is my nephews actual b-day) I have to go to some stupid homeschoolers high school social, the 17th is my brother-in-law's birthday, the 21st is my oldest sisters birthday, and the 30th is my other older sisters birthday! So me and my Mom (inbetween homeschooling) have been running around getting birthday presents and decorations. I also had to put together my nephews racetrack that we got him. It's huge! It's so cool though haha! I had to put it together because if my Dad would have then everything would probably be on backwards :D. For some reason that's how everything turns out when he puts it together! Well, it's not like you all actually cared about any of this but I thought I'd share anyway :). Thanks for reading... Review if you have the time!**


	8. I'm Just So Tired

Cody yawned as he came into work the next day. He and Anna had spent the whole night talking, although he didn't mention the fact that he had punched and threatened Walter.

Cody put his keys on his desk. Toby was usually sitting at his desk every morning, so when Cody saw that he wasn't there he went to look for him. He looked in Jimmy's office, but Jimmy wasn't even in there, so he looked in all of the back rooms in the precinct. When he got to the last room, he opened the door to see a old screen shot of him lying on James's bed. It was being projected onto a large computer screen in the room. Jimmy and Toby quickly turned around and when they saw it was Cody, Toby hurried to turn the computer off.

"What the hell was that?" Cody asked angrily.

Jimmy walked up to Cody, "Calm down, Cody."

"Calm down? Why the hell was that picture up there?"

"Yesterday another body was found. That picture was in her hand." Jimmy sighed, "'Sweet memories' was written on the back of the picture."

"What? Is... Is this something else that you were just going to keep hidden from me?"

"Of course not Cody."

"Why are you two even back here staring at the picture?"

"We thought maybe a clue was something in the picture," Toby said, "So we were looking to see if we saw anything suspicious in the picture."

Cody ran his hands through his hair, "I'm too tired to deal with this right now," He mumbled as he left out of the room. He grabbed his keys from his desk, then left.

As Cody left out of the precinct a young brunette woman approached him, "Are you Cody Martin?"

"Yes."

"I'm here to serve you with these legal documents," She said as she handed him a envelope.

Cody was confused, "What?"

"You're being sued by Walter McGee."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No sir."

"This is just great! Just perfect!"

"If you have any questions," She stated, "There are numbers you can call on the papers inside the envelope." She walked back to her car and left.

Cody got into his car and opened the envelope, "Seven hundred dollars for a hospital bill!" He yelled as he read how much he was being sued for, "Plus two thousand dollars for emotional damages! That bastard! I should've killed him!"

* * *

That night Zack and Cody went out for dinner, "What are Cassie and Ella up too?" Cody asked.

"They are going shopping. Cassie claims that Ella needs some new shoes," Zack replied with a laugh. "So what's going on with you?"

Cody shrugged, "Not much."

"What about that guy who's after you? Has he made anymore threats or anything?"

"Uh, no. Not a thing."

"And you're really not freaked out by this?"

Cody shook his head, "You get used to the threats after about a year or so." He was lying. The truth was that he was now terrified. The case, the fact that James wanted to see him, taking care of Anna, being sued by Walter, and being threatened by a serial killer was all starting to weigh on him. Plus the fact that he had barely slept in over a week wasn't helping either.

"Are you okay?" Zack asked, he realized how quiet Cody was being.

"I'm fine."

"You do know that I know you better than anyone else right? I mean, I probably know you better than you know you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know when something's up with you Cody. I don't understand why you won't talk to me, or anybody for that matter."

Cody sighed, "I really don't want to get into this right now."

"You never do. That's the problem. It's dangerous to keep all your feelings bottled up."

"I don't want to talk about it okay? Let's just change the subject."

Zack sighed, "Fine."

* * *

After dinner Cody was driving Zack back home, "Did you want to come in for a while? It's only eight so Ella won't be going to bed for another hour."

Zack looked over at Cody, who hadn't replied, "Did you hear me?"

Still no reply. Zack could tell something was wrong. Cody seemed as if he were on some other planet. He had a distant look in his eyes as he stared straight forward.

Suddenly Cody began veering off onto the wrong side of the road.

"Cody!" Zack yelled as a car neared them, "Cody!"

There was a car heading straight towards them. The other person began honking causing Cody to break out of his trance.

Cody gasped and jerked the car onto the right side of the road. He pulled over quickly slamming on his breaks.

"Damn it!" He yelled.

Zack, whose heart was pounding, became very angry, "What the hell was that?" He yelled.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking!" Cody replied as sweat dripped down his face.

"No freakin' duh! You could have killed us!"

Cody opened the driver door and got out of the car.

A confused Zack hurried out of the car, "What are you doing?" He yelled as Cody paced back and forth on the sidewalk.

"I... I don't know!"

"Well would you get back in the car!"

"I can't!" Cody yelled as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Zack could tell that Cody was scared, "Come on Cody. It's... It's no big deal," He said trying to calm Cody down, "We didn't wreck. We're fine. Just get back in the car."

Cody shook his head as he continued pacing, "It's just like all of a sudden everything hit me! I don't even remember leaving the restaurant! I mean I just don't know how much more I can take!"

"What do you mean Cody?"

"It's just becoming to hard!" He said as he sat down on the edge of the sidewalk.

Zack walked over to him and sat beside him, "What's becoming to hard?"

Tears began to fall from Cody's eyes.

"Cody, You need to tell me what's going on... Please."

Cody wiped a tear from his cheek, "The serial killer... He did make another threat, well sort of. He left a picture of me on James's bed in his latest victim's hand."

"Oh my God," Zack replied in shock.

"That's not all. Anna was beat up by her dumbass boyfriend. So I went and beat him up and now he's suing me for over seven thousand dollars. We've gotten nowhere on the case, I've barely slept in over a week, and James wants to see me!" Cody put his head in his hands as he cried even harder.

"Anna was beaten... And you're being sued by the guy that beat her?" A disgusted Zack asked, then added, "And James wants to see you?"

Cody nodded, "He said that he knows something about the case and if he doesn't talk to me someone would die."

Cody couldn't talk anymore, he was crying to hard.

Zack put his arm around Cody, "It's okay. It's okay," He repeated as Cody continued to cry.

"I'm just so tired," Cody whispered.

* * *

**Okay, so I didn't get very many reviews on the last chapter which kinda worries me. Please let me know if you guys are still enjoying this story. I realize I don't update as soon as I used to but September is just such a busy month for my family. Anyway, I don't want to be one of those people that beg for reviews... But please review! :) Thanks!**


	9. I'll Take Care Of It

Cody woke up to the smell of coffee. He slowly opened his eyes. At first he didn't realize where he was, but soon he figured out that he was lying on Zack's couch. He slowly got up off of the couch, rubbed his blurry eyes, and walked into the kitchen.

Zack was in the kitchen getting his things together for work. "Your awake!" Zack said with a smile, "I was gonna wake you up before I left."

"What time is it?" Cody asked.

Zack looked at his watch,"Exactly 6:23a.m.."

Cody nodded, then he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be with Anna, "Oh my God," He said in a panicked, but quiet tone so he didn't wake Ella up.

"What?"

"Anna, I'm supposed to be sleeping with her!"

"Excuse me?"

Cody glared at Zack, "I didn't mean it like that... I promised I would stay with her for a while after what happened with Walter."

"I was just kiddin' ya," Zack said with a laugh, then added, "No worries, I called her last night. I told her that you fell asleep at my house and I didn't want to wake you up. She was fine."

"Oh, thanks."

"No prob.."

Cody looked around the room, lost in thought.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked as he poured some coffee into his mug.

"How exactly did I get here? I don't remember coming into your house... I don't even remember driving home after..." Cody became embarrassed as he thought about how he had a nervous breakdown in front of his brother.

"After you decided to drive like you lived in Australia?" Zack finished, to lighten the mood a bit.

"Yeah," Cody said with a small smile.

"Can't say I blame you for forgetting, you were pretty exhausted. After we talked for a few minutes I drove us back here in your car. By the time we got here you were sound asleep so-"

Cody cut him off, "You didn't carry me in here did you?"

Zack snorted, "No. I woke you up, but you were still kinda out of it so I helped you in and laid you on the couch. By the time your head hit the pillow you had gone back to sleep."

"I can't believe I actually slept," Cody said in surprise, "And I didn't have one nightmare." Cody sighed, "Well, I better get going. I need to change and I don't want to be to late for work."

"You can borrow something of mine if you want," Zack offered.

"That would be great. Thanks."

* * *

When Cody got to work he sat at his desk and tried to ignore the fact that Toby kept staring at him.

After three minutes Cody couldn't handle it anymore, "What!" He said in an annoyed tone.

"Nothing," Toby replied. He took his eyes off of Cody and got back on his work, but in less than a minute he returned to staring at Cody.

"Oh my God what is it!"

"Boss knows."

Cody was confused, "Boss knows what?"

"About Walter. He got a call this morning from a judge who is a friend of his."

"Well, how do you know?"

Toby looked around to make sure Jimmy wasn't standing near-by, "I may have been eavesdropping a little bit."

Cody rolled his eyes, "Did he seem mad?"

"Uh... Well... He didn't seem happy."

"Great."

Just then Anna walked into the precinct. Gasps could be heard as some people saw her face. She ignored them and walked over to her desk.

"What happened to you?" A concerned Toby asked when he saw her.

"I fell when I went for a run the other day."

"You look horrible."

"Thanks so much."

Cody looked at Anna and she gave him a small smile, then she sat at her desk and began working.

Just then Jimmy came storming out of his office, "Cody! My office! Now!"

Cody took a deep breath as he got up, walked passed Jimmy, and made his way into his office. As Jimmy turned to go back into his office he noticed Anna's face. He went to ask her about it but decided to deal with Cody first.

* * *

Jimmy closed his office door and walked over by Cody, who was sitting in one of the chairs, "What the hell were you thinking?" He said in an angry, but calm tone.

"I was angry," Was all Cody could think of to say. He knew it was a childish excuse the moment it escaped his mouth.

"You were angry? That's why you decided to go to a mans house, punch him, kick him between his legs, and slam him down on the ground?"

"He's a jackass!" Cody said as a sudden rush of anger came over him.

"We all know that Cody. We've all had the displeasure of meeting Walter, but we don't all go to his house and beat the crap out of him!"

Cody got up out of his seat, "Did you see her face?" He said angrily as he stared Jimmy down, "He did that to her! Plus put an even bigger bruise on her back and threw some other things around her living room. I couldn't just let him get away with that. When she told me what happened I got so angry! There is alot of things in my life that I regret but I will never ever be sorry for beating him up! I lo... I care about Anna and I seeing her the way she was the other night... I couldn't let him get away with it!"

Jimmy was shocked. He couldn't believe that Walter beat Anna like that. And, he couldn't say that he wouldn't have done the same thing Cody did.

"I'm guessing she doesn't want to press charges?" Jimmy asked.

Cody shook his head and sat back down, "No. I tried to change her mind but for some reason she won't do it."

Jimmy nodded, "Okay... Listen to me Cody, don't worry about the lawsuit. I'll take care of it. We've got an even bigger problem to deal with right now and I need your full attention on our case." Jimmy walked behind his desk, picked up something, and handed it to Cody. "Anytime you leave this building, this gets put on."

"A bulletproof vest! Are you serious?"

"It's either desk duty or the vest."

"I have to wear it even when I go to get lunch?"

"If you leave the building to get lunch, then yes."

Cody sighed, "Fine."

* * *

At the end of the day no one had any leads on the case. Toby, Cody and Anna were all packing up to go home when another detective came up to Cody, "Hey Cody, I just found some of your mail at my desk," He said as he handed the envelope to Cody.

"Thanks."

The detective nodded and walked away.

Cody opened the envelope and began to read the note to himself,

_Years have changed you _  
_Once you were an innocent young boy _  
_Until a man took your innocence away from you_

_Waiting is all I do now _  
_I see the bodies in front of me, but they bring no satisfaction _  
_Long are the hours I wait for you _  
_Long are the days I think about having you to myself_

_Did I not give you enough clues to find me yet?_  
_Is there going to have to be more bodies?_  
_Eventually our day will come_

* * *

**It's been a crazy busy week! Not sure it will get less busy any time soon, but I will definitely continue writing. I always find the time to write... Even if I don't get to every day, at least once a week I get to! Anyway, tell me what you guys think!**


	10. A Matter Of Life Or Death

Cody read the letter over and over. He didn't notice Anna and Toby were now standing at his desk, staring at him.

"Uh... You okay man?" Toby asked.

Cody didn't reply. He kept his eyes glued to the letter.

Anna reached over the desk and put her hand on Cody's shoulder, lightly shaking him, "Hey, Cody! What's wrong?"

Cody's eyes popped up as he looked back and forth from Toby to Anna, "How long have you two been standing there?" He said in a confused tone.

"About three minutes," Toby replied, "What's makin' you look so nervous?"

Reading over the letter one more time Cody's eyes widened as he hurried out of his chair, "I gotta talk to Boss," He said as he hurried to Jimmy's office. Toby and Anna followed closely behind.

"Boss, I just got this letter. I'm pretty sure it's from our serial killer," Cody said in a hurry as he laid the letter in front of Jimmy, on his desk.

Toby and Anna gave each other a shocked look, then turned to Jimmy, knowing he would read the letter out loud.

"Years have changed you  
Once you were an innocent young boy  
Until a man took your innocence away from you

Waiting is all I do now  
I see the bodies in front of me, but they bring no satisfaction  
Long are the hours I wait for you  
Long are the days I think about having you to myself

Did I not give you enough clues to find me yet?  
Is there going to have to be more bodies?  
Eventually our day will come."

"Oh my God," Anna said quietly once Jimmy had finished.

"Do you see it?" Cody asked, not waiting for Jimmy or Toby's reaction.

"See what exactly?" Jimmy asked.

Look at the capital letters at the beginning of each sentence.

Jimmy looked over the letter again,

_**Y**ears have changed you _  
_**O**nce you were an innocent young boy _  
_**U**ntil a man took your innocence away from you_

_**W**aiting is all I do now _  
_**I** see the bodies in front of me, but they bring no satisfaction _  
_**L**ong are the hours I wait for you _  
_**L**ong are the days I think about having you to myself_

_**D**id I not give you enough clues to find me yet?_  
_**I**s there going to have to be more bodies?_  
_**E**ventually our day will come_

"You will die," He said aloud.

By this time Toby and Anna were hurrying over to see the letter for themselves.

"What are we gonna do?" Toby asked Jimmy.

"My first instinct is to put Cody on protection detail. Get him in a safehouse, twenty-four hour security, and desk duty at work."

Cody took a deep breath, "But?"

Jimmy looked up at Cody, "You may be our only chance of catching this guy. If I hide you away, we may never find out who he is and what he wants."

"I'm pretty sure we all know what he wants," Anna said, "Well, more like "who he wants"."

"But why Cody?" Toby asked, "Why not me?"

"Feeling left out are we?" Cody asked sarcastically.

Toby rolled his eyes, "No, I just mean, what's his beef with you? Anna, Jimmy, and I are all trying to figure out these murders, so why does he only care about you?"

While Toby was talking, Anna carefully read over the letter. When he was finished, she began, "In the first paragraph he is clearly talking about Cody being kidnapped by James. Then, in the second paragraph he says that the bodies bring no satisfaction, which makes me think that he's killing to get close to Cody. He also says that he's longing for you," She said as she looked up from the letter and at Cody, "And waiting to have you to himself. He's getting impatient."

"What about the last paragraph?" Toby asked.

"Well... I could try and think of a long and reasonable explanation for that paragraph, but I think he's just trying to piss us off with that one."

Jimmy got a pair of gloves, and a baggy out from his desk drawer. He put on the gloves and placed the letter into the bag, "Toby, take this to Maggie's lab. Stay there until she gets back here... Anna, call Maggie, tell her to get back here now. I want every test possible to be ran on that letter... Cody, where is the envelope?"

"On my desk."

"Toby, on your way to Maggie's lab grab the envelope. Put it in a bag. And don't forget to put on gloves first!"

"Got it Boss," Toby called out as he headed out of the room, Ann following behind.

"What about me?" Cody asked.

"Close the door, then sit."

Cody did as he was told. When he had sat down, Jimmy began, "You have a choice to make. I can't make this for you. I can't order you to do either, which is why I'm letting you choose."

Cody nodded.

"You can either have the protection detail, stay at the safehouse, and do desk work... Or, you can keep it like we've been doing up to this point. It's more dangerous that way-"

Cody finished the sentence for him, "But it may be our only way to find the bastard."

Jimmy sighed, "Yes."

Cody sat silently for a moment. "The first paragraph is what gets me."

"The part about you and James?"

"Yeah. I mean first he tells you he has information about the killer, when you get there he says that someone will die if I don't talk to him, then... Then you get that picture of me..." Cody looked at the floor, "Lying on his bed. And then this note, talking about him."

Jimmy sat silently as he waited for Cody to continue, although he had a feeling he knew what Cody was going to say.

"What if... What if I really do need to talk... To James?" He said as he slowly brought his eyes back to Jimmy. Bile came up in his throat at the thought of having to face that man again.

"Cody, I haven't given up on you, Toby, Anna, or myself. We are four strong, smart, and capable detectives. As long as we stick together, we can and will figure this out... Without James."

* * *

The night slowly passed as they all waited for Maggie to come back with the results of all the tests she was running. Each of them falling asleep at their desks... Except for Jimmy, he stayed awake. He sat at another one of his detectives desks and watched over Anna, Toby, and Cody.

* * *

It was five o'clock in the morning when Maggie left out of her lab to inform the team of her results, "I'm done!" She said loudly as she came around the corner.

The three sleeping detectives popped up.

"I didn't sleep with her I swear!" Toby yelled, half asleep.

"Bad dream?" Anna asked with a laugh.

Toby stretched as he got out of his chair, "I was in some woman's bedroom when her husband came home. She was telling him that I slept with her, even though I knew I hadn't..." He looked at Anna and smiled, "And believe me, I would have remembered sleeping with her. She was hot!"

Anna glared at Toby, but before she could reply Jimmy interrupted, "Do you mind if we hear the results? It's kind of a matter of life or death."

"Sorry Boss," Toby said instantly.

Cody folded his arms and leaned against one of the desks in the room as he waited for Maggie to begin.

"Okay, so, I didn't find any fingerprints or DNA." She saw the sad and angry looks that everyone had on their faces, "But," she added with a smile, "I did find something."

"What?" Cody asked with wide eyes.

"The paper and the envelope were made by the same company. I noticed that they both had a different feel and look to them then regular paper does, so I ran tests to check the materials that made the paper. Once I had the results I looked up companies that use those same materials and I got one match. It's Hanson Paper Company in Lynn, Massachusetts."

"We need to find out who buys and sells their paper," Jimmy said as he looked at his detectives. They all began to go to their desks and look it up when Maggie stopped them.

"I already know who."

"Well?" Jimmy said impatiently.

Maggie smiled, "No one."

"What do you mean?" Toby asked.

"The company shut down a few years ago. All that remains of the Hanson Paper Company is the abandoned warehouse in Lynn."

* * *

The sun was just beginning to rise as Jimmy pulled up the the warehouse, "Cody, Toby, you two take the back. Me and Anna will enter through the front. Everyone got their vests on and their earpieces in?"

"Yes," They all replied as they exited the car.

"One last thing," Jimmy added, "Do not rule out the idea that this is a set up. Whoever we are dealing with is very smart. Do not put your weapon away until you are one hundred percent sure that this warehouse is clear. Understood?"

They all nodded, then Toby and Cody parted from Anna and Jimmy, making their way to the back of the warehouse.

"When I say three, we go in quietly," Jimmy said to his team. "One... Two... Three!"

With that they entered the building, pointing their guns in every direction, making sure the building was clear.

"First floor is clear," Cody said when they all met up in the middle of the building a couple minutes later.

Jimmy nodded, "Now we move to the second floor."

As thy were beginning to part directions and go up the two separate flights of stairs gunshots began ringing inside the warehouse.

They all ran for cover behind some crates that were inside and began firing back at the shadowy figure that was one floor up.

Their hearts were pounding but they kept their mind on the job that they were trained to do. _'When your fired at, you take cover, find the shooter, and fire back.'_ That's what they had been taught.

Suddenly the shadow figure disappeared and the gunshots stopped. After a few seconds Cody looked up from the crate he had taken cover behind, that was when he saw Jimmy lying on the floor, "Boss!" He yelled as he ran over to him.

"Cody stop!" Toby yelled, but Cody didn't listen, "Damn it!" He yelled as he ran over to Cody and Jimmy, "Anna, you stay down, if he comes back, yell!"

Cody turned Jimmy over, "Boss, can you hear me?"

Jimmy's eyes slowly opened, "My vest... Took the hit," He said as he tried to catch his breath, "Hit my head when I fell... Dizzy."

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shooter!" Anna suddenly yelled. Gunshots firing immediately afterwards. Not waiting for Jimmy to stand Toby and Cody dragged him behind a crate.

Cody began firing back and kept firing until the figure disappeared again. That's when Cody heard someone gasping for air. He looked around and saw the pool of blood that surrounded his colleague and friend.

"Toby!"

* * *

**First of all, I know I could have made the shooting more detailed, but i didn't want to. I figure that if you're getting shot at, and you're shooting at someone, then you aren't gonna notice details. It would be more fast paced... I don't know if I'm making sense but in my head, it works! haha **  
** Also, I would like to thank a few people: _Wyntirsno_, _tiger002, Fletty_, and _lor4eto_. Y'all are amazingly wonderful and faithful reviewers! Every review means the world to me and if I didn't add your name it doesn't mean I appreciate the review any less. I am so grateful and thankful to everyone who reads and reviews my stories! Thank you all! **


	11. I Deserved It

"Are you sure there was just one shooter?"

"Did you see his face?"

"Sir, can you hear me?"

"Do you know what kind of gun he was using?"

Cody sat in the back of an ambulance, his legs hanging down onto the ground, staring at the warehouse in front of him. He heard the man asking him the questions, but his words seemed to slur together. Cody wasn't even sure if he was ignoring the officer or if he was too stunned to speak.

He looked over to his right at the other ambulance where his best friend was lying inside. They were prepping Toby before taking him off to the hospital.

Cody then looked to his left where Anna was standing, talking to another officer.

Just behind Anna was another ambulance. Jimmy was lying inside that one, however his injuries weren't too serious, just a minor concussion. They were just asking him some questions before letting him out of the ambulance.

"Detective Martin, I need you to snap out of this!" The annoyed officer yelled, "I need you to answer my questions!"

Cody looked down at his hands. They were covered in blood.

"Get away from him Officer Ferris!" Another voice sounded. It was Officer Abel Sanchez.

Ferris sighed, "He won't speak."

"Well how would you feel if your partner and your boss just got shot!"

"His boss is gonna be fine! The vest took his hit."

Abel glared at him, "It doesn't make a difference! I'll take over for you... Go!"

Ferris rolled his eyes as he walked off.

"I'm sorry about that Cody," Abel said as he sat beside him, "Ferris is... Well, he's an ass." There was a moment of silence before Abel continued, "Cody, I do need you to tell me what happened."

Cody was silent for a few seconds as he tried to hide the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"He was just lying there," Cody said quietly, "After the shooting stopped I looked over and he was just lying there... There was so much blood. He was gasping for air."

_"Toby!" Cody shouted as he ran over to his partner, "Toby... Come on man! You're gonna be alright!" He saw that Toby had been shot in the side._

_"Don't do this man!" Cody yelled as he applied pressure to the wound, "Come on, stay with me!"_

_Anna ran up the stairs to clear the other room... Or kill whoever was in it. When she got to the room she saw the window was wide open. She ran to it and looked outside, but whoever had been in the room was gone now._

_"He's gone!" She yelled as she came back down the stairs._

_"Call 911 now!" Cody yelled._

_Anna immediately got out her cell phone and called._

_Toby's eyes were closing and he was no longer gasping for breath as he slowly began to slip away._

_"Don't do this Toby! You're gonna be okay!"_

"Where was Jimmy during all of this?" Abel asked.

"He was still laying on the ground, going in and out. He had bumped his head when he got shot."

Abel nodded, "Have they given you any information on Toby yet?"

"No," Cody replied, keeping his eyes on his bloody hands.

The ambulance that was carrying Toby took off. Cody quickly stood up, "I need to follow them," He said in a panic.

Just then Jimmy came out of the other ambulance, "Did they already take Toby?" He asked.

"They just left," Cody replied.

"Okay. We need to go now," Jimmy turned to Anna, "Anna, we're leaving for the hospital. Come on, you're driving."

Anna nodded, and left the officer she was speaking with mid-question.

"Officer Abel," Jimmy began, but before he could finish, Abel spoke up.

"I'll tell the other guys to back off. If any other questions need to be asked, I'll do the asking."

"Thank you," Jimmy replied, then left to get into the car.

* * *

Cody sat in the waiting room after he finished scrubbing his hands in the men's bathroom at the hospital, trying to get off all the dried blood.

After what felt like hours the doctor finally came into the waiting room, "Anyone here for Toby Snow?"

Jimmy, Anna, and Cody all jumped up.

"I'm Dr. Wilson. Let me guess... Jimmy, Anna, and Cody?"

They all nodded.

"He's got you all listed as his next of kin," The doctor said with a smile.

"How is he?" Cody asked.

"Let's take a seat," Dr. Wilson said as he pointed to the waiting room chairs. He swung one chair around so he could face them as he spoke, "Toby was shot in the hip. When he first got here, we lost him for a moment..."

Anna gasped, tears filled in Cody eyes, and Jimmy took a deep breath.

"But, we got him back. He got through surgery fine. I have him on sedatives, and he is receiving a blood transfusion. He should be out of the hospital in a week, but he won't fully recover for a month or so... Do any of you have questions for me?"

"When can we see him?" Anna asked.

"Tomorrow. He won't be awake for the rest of the night anyway."

_'Night?'_ Cody thought, _'When did it become night?'_ He looked at his watch, it was 9p.m.. Cody knew they had been sitting in the waiting room for a few hours but he had no idea it was already nine o'clock.

"Thank you doctor," Jimmy said with a nod.

"No problem. I've got to go tend to some of my other patients, but if any of you need anything," He said as he pulled some cards from his coat and handed each of them one, "My number is on there." Then he turned and left.

"I'm so glad he's gonna be okay," Anna said with a sigh of relief.

Cody and Jimmy agreed.

"Anna, would you mind dropping me off back at the precinct?" Jimmy asked, "I shouldn't drive with the concussion so I'll sleep in my office."

"Are you sure?" Anna asked, "I can take you home."

"No, it's fine. I like sleeping in my office anyway."

"Okay."

* * *

Once they all got back to the precinct Jimmy said his good night to Anna and Cody, then went inside.

Anna sighed as she and Cody walked to her car, "Crazy day huh?"

"Oh yeah."

Anna turned to Cody, "Are you okay? I can understand why you were quiet earlier, because of Toby, but even since we found out that he'd be okay you haven't said much.

Cody took a deep breath and looked towards the road, "You wanna take a walk?" He asked.

"Out here? At night?"

Cody nodded, "Yeah. We can walk from here to the park. It's only a few blocks away."

Anna smiled, "Okay."

As they started down the sidewalk Cody took another deep breath, "I'm gonna have to talk to him," He said with sadness and fear in his voice.

Anna looked at him with a confused expression, "What?"

"James," He clarified, "He's our only option."

"Cody, he's not our only option."

"Yeah he is Anna. We've got absolutely nothing on this case. James told Jimmy that someone would die if I didn't talk to him."

"But no one has died, Cody."

Cody ran his fingers through his hair, "It got damn close... Too close. I can't wait until someone actually dies before I go talk to him."

Anna thought for a moment before replying, "For all we know, he could be lying. He probably just wants to see you."

"Maybe, but I don't think so."

Anna remained silent. She wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Will you go with me?" Cody asked, breaking the silence. "When I go to see him, will you come?"

Anna put her arm around Cody's back, "Of course I will."

He then placed his arm around her, "Thank you."

* * *

When they got to the park they sat down beside each other on a bench.

"It's a beautiful night," She said as she looked up at the stars.

"Sure is," He agreed as he looked over at Anna, staring at the bruise on her face. Every time he saw it anger built inside of him.

"What's wrong?" She asked when she noticed him staring, "Is there something on my face?"

"Does it hurt?" He asked as if he were a child in elementary school.

"The bruise? No, not really. The one on my back does if I lay down so I sleep on my side... I think my ego took the worst of it," She added with a small laugh, trying to hide the sadness she felt. "I guess I deserved it."

Cody couldn't believe what she had said, "Deserved it? Nobody ever deserves to get beaten up... Except for people who beat people up."

Anna looked Cody in the eyes, "I never loved him."

"Then why in the world were you going to marry him?"

"Throughout my whole life all I ever wanted was a family. I wanted to be married, have kids, live in a cozy house, go on family vacations, and play sports in the backyard," She said with a smile as she thought about that life. "The thing was that I wanted it quick. So, I went to all the wrong places to meet guys, and every time I thought I had found the right guy it turned out they were just drunk and agreeing with everything I said so I would sleep with them..."

Cody listened but didn't say a word. He loved listening to her, he loved looking at her, he loved being with her, he loved... Her.

"When I met Walter, he was so nice to me. He surprised me with things, and he... He just seemed like a great guy. Then after a while, I guess when he became comfortable, it was like this whole different side of him popped up out of nowhere. He was... A..." She couldn't find the right word, so Cody helped.

"An ass."

She nodded, "Yupp. There was a couple of times where I was just gonna tell him to forget it, that I could find someone else. Someone better. But one night he asked me to marry him, and I thought about the family I always dreamed of," A tear fell down her cheek, "So I said yes. I figured he'd be my only chance for my dream." More tears escaped her eyes.

"Anna," He began as he looked into her eyes, "If anyone deserves their dream, it's you. You are the sweetest and most amazing person I know. You deserve the best."

Now Anna was crying for a new reason. She had never been told that before, by anyone. At that moment she never felt more loved. She leaned into Cody and gave him a small kiss. Fearing that she had made a mistake she quickly backed off, but before she could get too far Cody gently placed his hands on her face, wiping the tears away. He then leaned in, returning the kiss. It was a sweet and romantic kiss.

They both felt as if they were two teenagers having their first kiss. Their hearts were pounding and they felt as if they were invincible. It was a feeling that neither of them had felt before.

Though both of them were going through hard times, at that moment, they felt as if the world had stopped, leaving only them to be happy together. It was a moment they wanted to last forever.

Unfortunately, someone didn't agree.

* * *

**Hard chapter to write and I'm not sure why. It took longer than I wanted but I've been extremely busy with school work, helping my sister move from her house to my grandma's house next door, spending time with my family, and my other sister coming to visit from college. And while I love writing, real life must come first.**  
** Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Not super exciting but I wanted to have an Anna and Cody moment. And don't worry people, Zack will be in this story more, I promise! **  
**Please review! You guys keep me going! Thanks!**


	12. Ammunition

The walk back to the car was a quiet one for Cody and Anna, but they didn't mind. They walked hand in hand back to the precinct where their cars were parked.

"Did you ever call Zack today, to let him know what happened?" Anna asked, breaking the silence.

Cody closed his eyes and leaned his head back, "Oh crap! I forgot!"

Anna wrapped her other hand around Cody's arm, "Would he still be up now? You could call him on the way back to my place."

Cody looked at his watch, "Yeah, I'll do that."

Cody walked Anna over to her car and opened the door for her, "See you soon," He said with a smile.

"Okay," She replied, a smile on her face as well.

He placed his hand on her cheek and gave her a small, but sweet, kiss.

* * *

He watched her drive off as he got into his car and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He started the car as he waited for Zack to pick up.

"Hello," Zack answered after three rings.

"I didn't wake you up did I?" Cody asked.

"Nope. Me and Cassie are watching TV. What's up?"

"Jimmy and Toby got shot this morning-"

Zack got up and went into the kitchen, so he wouldn't worry Cassie or wake up Ella, "What?" He asked in a quiet but panicked tone.

"Don't worry. They're both gonna be fine. Jimmy's vest took his hit, but Toby wasn't so lucky. He was hit in the hip, but he should be out of the hospital in a week or so."

"Well... Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Cody replied, nodding as if Zack could see, "I'm great actually."

"Wait a minute. I know that voice, I don't hear it often, but I know it... You're happy!" Zack said with a slightly confused smile.

"How is it possible that one of the worst days ever could turn into one of the best nights ever?"

"I don't know. Enlighten me... Or maybe not... Do I want to know?"

Cody laughed, "Anna and I took a walk to the park and I... Well she... Kissed me. Then I kissed her."

"About time!" A very happy Zack replied.

Now Cody was confused, "What?"

"The two of you liking each other has only been painfully obvious for the past few years. I was beginning to doubt if either of you would ever do anything about it."

"Did anyone else notice?"

"Um... Just everyone," Zack replied with a small laugh.

"Seriously?"

"Oh yeah... Anyway, I'm seriously, really happy for you. It's about time I heard some happiness in your voice."

"Thanks." Cody paused for a moment, "But there's something else."

"Oh no," Zack sighed, "What is it?"

"I have to go... Meet James."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No," Cody replied, the happiness leaving his voice, "He told Jimmy that if I didn't talk to him then someone would die. Well, today two people almost died. Two of my friends... I can't let that happen. If something were to happen to them, worse then what happened today, I can't live the rest of my life wondering if I could have prevented it by one conversation."

"Cody, that's not just one conversation. That's a conversation with a man who took part of our life away. He put you through physical torture and me through mental torture. You can't just go and talk to him like he's just some guy who has information about a case... Information that he probably doesn't even really have."

Cody took a deep breath, "I have to do this Zack, I have to. I just wanted to ask you something."

"What's that?"

"Will you go with me? Anna already said yes, but I want you there too. You don't have to go in the room with him, just wait in the other room."

Zack was silent for a moment as he thought, "Just tell me the day and time, I'll be there."

"Thank you. I gotta go. I'm staying with Anna again tonight and she'll be worried if I'm not there soon after her," Cody said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Okay... But Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"For tonight, and until you actually have to go meet with..." Zack stopped and swallowed before finishing, "James. Could you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Can you keep the happiness in your voice? You know, stop thinking about James for a while and start thinking about you and Anna... Just be happy."

Cody smiled, "I think I can do that."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Okay, love ya little bro.."

"Love you too. Goodnight. Tell Cassie I said goodnight too."

"Will do."

* * *

Toby's eyes slowly opened to see Cody looking down at him.

"Hey there sleepy head," Cody said with a smile.

Toby looked around, "Why... Am I in the... Hospital?" He asked, his mouth was very dry.

Cody lifted up his hospital bed a little bit and handed him some ice chips, "You got shot," He told him as Toby put some ice chips in his mouth.

Toby's eyes widened, "What? When? How long have I been out for?"

"We were out looking for a lead in our serial killer case. It happened a few years ago," Cody began, "You've been out since then. Anna and I got married, we have two kids. Calypso and Garbanzo. Cute little ones, I tell ya," He said with a smile.

Toby's eyes widened even more, if that was possible. Then after a few seconds his widened eyes turned into a glare, "You're such a jerk."

Cody began to laugh, "I can't believe you even believed me for a few seconds. You really think I would name my kids after a bean and a chickpea? Really?"

"Who knows with you, you freak."

Cody tried to contain his laugh as he re-explained how long Toby had been out, "It happened yesterday. They put you on sedatives and called me this morning saying that you would be waking up soon. Anna and Jimmy are coming later on but they're working right now. Jimmy let me leave to come see you but I gotta get back soon. How are you feelin'?"

Toby paused for a moment, trying to feel if anything hurt, "Not bad," He decided, "Kinda have a sore feeling all over. Like I had to carry you around for hours or something."

"Is that an insult?" Cody asked jokingly.

Toby paused for a moment then gave Cody a sly smile, "You kissed her didn't you?"

"Who?"

"Anna. You totally made out with her!"

"What? How did... How?" Cody asked in shock.

"I'm a detective Cody, it's my job to figure these things out... It's totally obvious in your eyes... So, how was it?"

Cody glared at Toby, "I'm not giving you any ammunition."

"Okay, okay. Just tell me this... Did you sleep with her?"

Cody rolled his eyes, "I'm leaving you now," He said as he made his way to the door.

"Wait! You can't leave me. What if I die?" Toby asked, although he wasn't really worried.

"I have a feeling you'll be fine," Cody called back as he left the room, "Goodbye!"

* * *

**Decided to make this one a light chapter. Sometimes it's nice to take a break from all the crazy and focus on the character interaction, if you know what I mean. Thank you guys for the reviews! They mean so much to me. The more I get the more inspired I am to write.**


	13. Do You Think Of Me?

Cody stood in a small room looking through the two-way mirror, staring at the seat where James would soon be sitting. After a few seconds he looked down at his watch, _'Almost time,'_ He thought as he began to pace back and forth.

Zack, who was standing a couple of feet back, took a deep breath, "You don't have to do this Cody," He said.

Anna nodded, "He's right. You don't have to talk with him."

"No, I do. I have to talk to him. It's the only way," Cody replied. He was really talking to himself, trying to give himself a pep talk.

An officer opened the door, "He'll be here in three minutes."

Cody sighed, "Okay. Where is the restroom?"

"Right down this hall," he said as he pointed behind him, "Then to the right. You can't miss it."

"Thanks." Cody turned to Zack and Anna, "I'll be right back."

When Cody got into the bathroom he ran to a stall and abruptly threw up, barely making it to the toilet. He hadn't eaten breakfast, or dinner the night before, so all that came up was liquid.

After sitting on the floor for about thirty seconds he got up, went to the sink, rinsed out his mouth, and left the bathroom.

* * *

"Feel better?" Zack asked, knowing exactly what Cody did.

Cody nodded then put a mint in his mouth.

The officer who had come in earlier, came in once again, "He's on his way."

Cody, again, started pacing as his heartbeat began to rise.

The officer noticed how Cody was acting, "Is he okay?" He asked Zack.

"No. This hits far too close to home."

"He has a past with the man he is about to talk to?"

Zack nodded, "Yeah. Unfortunately we both do."

The officer held out his hand for Zack to shake, "I'm Officer Peter Franklin. I'll make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible."

"Thank you," Zack replied as he returned the shake.

Just then James entered the other room. Cody froze as he watched the man look into the mirror and smile. Although he couldn't see Cody, Cody felt as if James was staring right at him.

The officers who escorted James to the room backed him down into a chair and fastened his cuffs to the chair, then they exited the room.

Zack stared at the back of James's head, cursing at him in his mind.

Peter walked over to Cody, "Detective Martin," He began, "We need to go now."

Cody didn't move.

**"NO! Please don't! STOP!"**

**"Please! You're hurting me!"**

**"Stop! STOP!"**

Anna walked up behind him, placing an arm on his back, "Cody," she said gently, "Both Zack and I are here for you. You can do this. I know you can."

Cody nodded as a tear fell down his eye. He quickly wiped it away, shaking the memories from his mind. He turned and began to walk out of the room with Officer Franklin. On his way out he picked up a folder from a desk that was inside the room.

"Cody," Zack stopped him, "We'll be right here. You're not alone, okay?"

Cody nodded again, "Okay."

* * *

"I'll stay in the room with you," Peter said as they walked to the other door, "I can't stop him from whatever he might say, but if he gets rowdy, I'll stop anything from going wrong before it even starts, I promise."

"Thanks."

Peter began to turn the door knob.

Cody put a hand on the door, "Just hang on a second," He said. He closed his eyes and took some extra deep breaths. He decided in that moment to take everything he had learned over the years of being a detective. He was going to push away every personal memory of James, and go into the room a detective... Not a scared victim.

"I'm ready," He said.

Peter nodded and opened the door, walking in first.

Cody followed a few steps behind, sitting in the chair across from James. He sat the folder down and opened it. He kept his eyes on the folder and off of James.

James gasped at the sight of Cody, "Wow," He whispered.

Cody got chills at the sound of his voice, _'Be professional. Be professional,'_ He repeated to himself.

"I was told you had information about a case. They are calling the serial killer 'The Birth Controller'. What's the information you have?"

"Well there's just no foreplay with you is there?" James asked with a smile. He looked up at Officer Franklin, "There never was you know."

"Just answer his questions Kaleb," Peter replied.

James sighed, "Your serial killer, he's come to visit me a few times. Haven't seen him in a while though."

Cody finally found the courage to look him in the eyes, "What did he tell you?" He asked, trying to keep his voice from sounding shaky.

"Your eyes," James said as he stared at Cody, "They're just as beautiful as they always were." James leaned his body forward as much as he could with his wrists being cuffed and chained to the chair, "It's been a long time since I last saw you, my Cody. Tell me, do you think of me?"

Zack was becoming very upset. Although his brother may be able to hide his fear from others, he could never hide it from Zack. Zack could tell that Cody wasn't going to be able to last much longer.

Cody didn't answer James. He repeated the question, "What did he tell you?"

"I think of you often. Every time I drift off to sleep I think of our bodies touching. Your soft skin-"

"This was a waste of time," Cody said as he grabbed the folder and began to walk out of the room.

"Wait!" James yelled, "He said he was a fan," He began.

Cody stopped, walked back over to the chair, and sat down.

James continued, "He said he's read everything about me, but he doesn't have the guts to do what I did... So he was gonna take a different approach... We talked for a bit, about nothing important. I could tell he was amazed by me," He smiled, "But who wouldn't be?"

"Anything else?" Cody asked in an annoyed tone, "Like a name?"

"No name."

"Description then?"

James shrugged, "I'm not sure," He said, "To remember that I may need to feel your soft touch again. Maybe we could go some place private and relive some of those fond memori-"

Cody slammed his fists on the table, "STOP IT! JUST SHUT UP!"

James was slightly shocked by Cody, but he never showed it, "My Cody," He began, "Last time I heard you yelling like that your voice was not so deep... And you were below me."

Cody got up and looked over at Peter, "Get him out of here," He demanded as he left the room.

Peter nodded, "Yes, sir." He walked over to James and unchained him from the chair, "Let's go," He said as he grabbed one arm to help him up.

"Is the fun over all ready?" James asked with a laugh.

As Peter escorted James out of the room he pushed James into a wall.

"Ow!" James yelled.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"Yes, you did!"

Peter smiled, "Good!"

* * *

Before Cody could even get back to the other room where Zack and Anna were, he began to cry. He sunk down onto the hallway floor with his back leaning against the wall. He curled his knees to his chest, putting his face in his hands as he sobbed.

Anna walked over to the door to go and see where Cody was at. When she opened the door and saw Cody sitting there she immediately ran over to him, wrapped her arms around him, and comforted him as he cried.

Zack was standing at the doorway watching. He wanted to run over to his brother and comfort him as well, but he couldn't. He had always tried to be strong for his brother, not ever wanting Cody to see him cry. So he walked back into the room and sat down at the desk, letting the tears escape his eyes while memories flashed into his head.

**"No. No! Don't hurt him, "Zack cried out, "Take me. Take me instead."**

**"Nope. He's gonna pay for your mistake. Come on Cody."**

**James grabbed Cody's arm and began leading him out of the room.**

**"Please take me! Please!"**

* * *

**I wasn't originally going to end the chapter here, but after some thought I liked this ending better. If I would have gone any further then I would have been rushing things, which is something I don't wanna do.**  
** Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter... Thank you all so much for your reviews. I know I write that pretty much every time but I honestly mean it. **


	14. They'll Be Back

Once Cody had calmed down Anna drove them back to her apartment.

The moment Cody got inside he walked over to her couch and sat down. He had red eyes with dark circles underneath. He bent over, putting his elbows on his legs, and put his face in his hands, "What a waste of time," He mumbled.

Anna walked over and sat beside him, gently rubbing his back, "You had to try."

He lifted his head and sighed, "I should have listened to you and Zack," He said as he stared straight ahead.

"You did what you felt needed to be done."

"The nightmares are gonna start coming back again. They had stopped for a little while, but I know they'll be back."

"And I'll be here if they do."

They were both silent for a moment as they thought about what had happened earlier that day. After a couple of minutes Cody broke the silence, "I'm sorry," He said in a whispered tone.

"What for?"

Still looking straight ahead Cody began to explain, "I broke down. I was weak. I couldn't keep it professional."

"You are kidding, right?"

Cody shook his head, "No."

"Look at me Cody," Anna said softly. When Cody didn't respond she placed her hand on his chin and comfortingly turned his head for him, "As far as I'm concerned no one in this world is as brave as you," She moved her hand off of his face and placed it on his leg, "You walked into a room with a man who both emotionally and physically abused you and your brother. You asked him questions about a case and..." Ann sighed, "What I'm trying to say is, you kept it more professional then anyone I know. Most people would have broken down right in that room... If they would have even gone in. But you, you kept calm for as long as you could, and when you couldn't any more-"

"You mean when I yelled at him?" Cody interrupted.

Anna nodded, "Yeah... I'm pretty sure you scared him a little."

Cody rolled his eyes, "Yeah right."

"I'm serious. I mean, I could only see the back of his head, but I could tell. I'm good at reading people... Well criminals," She corrected as she thought about Walter, "And I could tell by a slight change in his tone that he was surprised."

Cody stood up and walked over to the medium sized window in Anna's living room, "Even if that's true, which I'm not sure it is, we still didn't learn anything about our serial killer."

* * *

Zack leaned his head over to rest on the steering wheel. He had just pulled into the parking lot at his apartment. He closed his eyes and began to think back to the day he and Cody were kidnapped.

**"I can't wait to get back to the Tipton! I have so many pranks planned that will drive Mosbey insane! It's gonna be epic! This Christmas break will be awesome."**

**"Uh-huh," Cody replied, not fully listening to what Zack was saying.**

**"Like this one where I turn off the heat and..."**

**Cody cut him off, "Zack, don't you think you should stop all this pranking? I mean we're sixteen years old. It's kinda immature."**

**"No way! Who cares if it's immature? It's fun."**

**"I just think..."**

**Zack waited for Cody to finish the sentence, when he didn't, Zack turned around, "You just think wha... Oh my God!"**

He opened his eyes,raised his head from the steering wheel, and stared out the windshield. He hadn't thought about that horrible week for years. Cody was always the one thinking about it. No one could blame him, Cody had been through the worst part. Sure the emotional abuse was horrible, but Zack knew it was nothing compared to what Cody had to go through. But now, since seeing James again, all Zack could think about was that week.

**"You know," James said, "I was gonna go easy on you for a while, but now, I don't think so. So while you sit in here and think about what you tried to do, I'm going to take Cody into the room next door and teach you both a lesson. You can sit and listen to him scream and beg for mercy."**

**"No. No! Don't hurt him, "Zack cried out, "Take me. Take me instead."**

**"Nope. He's gonna pay for your mistake. Come on Cody."**

**James grabbed Cody's arm and began leading him out of the room. A tear fell from Cody's face as he looked back at his brother.**

**"Please take me! Please!" Zack continued to cry out, even after the door was shut and locked.**

A tear escaped Zack's eye. The memories were flooding through his mind. He was even surprised at how perfectly he remembered everything. He had placed the memories in the back of his mind for so long that he hoped he could forget alot of it... But he hadn't.

**As soon as James left the room Zack crawled over to Cody.**

**"Oh my God!" He said in shock as he saw the blood on Cody's boxers. It was the only thing Cody had on.**

**"Cody, what did he do to you?" He asked as he slowly helped Cody turn over.**

**Cody didn't reply. He just stared at his brother as tears fell down the sides of his face.**

**"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have tried to hurt him. If I wouldn't have done anything then he wouldn't have hurt you! I'm so sorry!" Zack cried as he looked at his helpless brother.**

**"Don't be sorry," Cody whispered, "It wasn't your fault. You were trying to get us out of here."**

**"I won't let him do that to you again, Cody. I swear, I won't let him hurt you again."**

Zack always regretted making that swear.

**"One!" James said with a smile as the whip neared Cody's back.**

**"AH!" Cody yelled.**

**"Two!"**

**"NO!"**

**"Three!"**

**"Stop!"**

**"Four!"**

**"Please!"**

**"Five!"**

He remembered Cody falling to the ground. He remembered trying to scream but no sound could be heard through the tape that covered his mouth. He hadn't felt the pain of the whip as Cody had, but he felt the pain of guilt. Guilt that he had sworn to his brother that he wouldn't get hurt again, yet not being able to do anything to stop it.

Zack tried to wipe the memories away. He tried to stop thinking about it, but he couldn't.

**"Zack," Cody whispered.**

**Zack gasped when he heard him speak, "What is it Cody?"**

**"I don't think... I'm gonna make it."**

Those words... Those words made Zack feel as if his heart had been struck by lightning. He could remember exactly how Cody sounded. It was right after Cody had been raped for a second time.

Even after they had been rescued there were some days where Zack had wished they both would have just died. Cody had to stay in the hospital for such a long time. There were so many surgeries, so many nightmares, so much pain. Carey was always there for both Zack and Cody, but sometimes Zack didn't want her there. He didn't want her to pat his back or to try and be comforting. He just wanted to be left alone.

And Cody... Cody wouldn't let anyone touch him for the longest time. Anytime Carey even tried to hold his hand, or touch his shoulder for comfort, he would jerk away. Eventually he got to where Carey could hug him and he would flinch too much, but it took a while.

There were days where one second Cody would be laughing on the couch watching a movie, and the next second he would be crying his eyes out. There were days were Cody would go to get a shower and thirty minutes later the water would still be running so Zack would have to go check on him and Cody would be sitting on the shower floor, soaking wet with his boxers still on, crying.

There were times where Zack would be walking down the street and someone would simply raise a hand, not even directed at him, but Zack would gasp and have a sudden fear that he was going to be hit. Of course neither Zack or Cody were allowed to walk the street by themselves so they were always with Carey or someone that Carey approved of, but nonetheless, Zack was afraid.

Or he would hear a man saying certain words like "pay" or "fun" and he would automatically think James was around, even if the man didn't sound like James.

* * *

When Zack snapped out of all of his horrible memories he realized that his face was covered in dried, and fresh, tears. He wiped them away, even though more immediately took their place, and he looked at the clock in his car. He realized he had been sitting in his car for over an hour.

But right now he couldn't go into his apartment. He couldn't be around Ella and Cassie. He pulled out of the parking lot and left the apartment complex. He didn't know where he was going, but he just needed to go. He needed to drive. He needed to be alone.

* * *

**First of all: I am going on vacation on Thursday and I won't be back for a week. I will try my best to post one more chapter before I leave. **  
**Second: My reason for writing this chapter is because #1: I had never really shown Zack's emotions, just Cody's. In Shattered I wrote little bits and pieces about Zack, but never anything in depth. #2: Because I skipped so many years between Survival and Shattered I never really said (not in details anyway) about how it was like for them for about the first 6-9 months after being rescued. I wanted to go into that a little bit more, and instead of doing it through Cody, I decided on Zack. I think it worked... I hope you agree! Let me know what you think.**


	15. He's Mine

It was eight at night when Zack noticed his cell phone was ringing, "Hello," He answered without looking at who was calling.

"Zack! I've been so worried about you!" Cassie said in a panicked tone, "Where are you?"

Zack looked around, he wasn't far from home, "About twenty five minutes away," He answered. It was the first time he realized where he was after driving all day.

"Well what happened? I've called you about ten times! I called Cody about and hour ago and he said if I didn't hear from you or see you by nine then to let him know! We've all been so worried!"

Zack could tell Cassie had been crying. "I'm so sorry honey. It's just... Today was so hard... Harder than I expected it to be, and I just couldn't come home afterwards. I'm sorry I didn't call you."

"Well... You should be," She replied, calming down a little.

"I know. I am... Do you forgive me?"

Cassie sighed, "Just this once. And only because I know today had to be really tough. Although I wish you would have just talked to me about it instead of scaring me to death."

"Again, I'm sorry. I'll be home soon, okay?"

"Okay. I'm gonna call Cody and let him know you're alright."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

The next day Cody, Jimmy, and Anna all went to visit Toby. He had now been in the hospital for five days.

"Hey guys," Toby said as they all walked into the room.

"Hey," They all replied.

"How are you feeling?" Ann asked.

Toby shrugged, "I'd feel better if I were off all these drugs. I now know why it's so hard for some of the druggies we talk with to answer questions."

Jimmy sat down in one of the chairs, "Have they told you when you're gettin' out?"

"Tomorrow," He replied happily, "My nurse... Her name is Cindy," He began, going off the subject, "She's got long brown hair, blue eyes, beautiful teeth. I'm not sure how old she is but she's hot an-"

"Whoa, whoa," Jimmy stopped him, "I think you started changing the subject right after "My nurse" so why don't you go back to that part."

"Oh, right. My nurse said that I'm making great improvement and I will be going home earlier than previously expected," Toby smiled, "Isn't that great, Boss! I can start back on desk duty and soon... Soon I will be chasing after the bad, mean, rude, and scary people again." Toby tried to focus his eyes on any of the three people in the room, but he couldn't seem to do so. However the large smile was still plastered on his face.

Cody laughed, "You are so high."

"Am not!... Are not... Am... Are... Are? Arm... Arms... We all have arms... Well, some people don't have arms, but most of us do have arms..."

"Wow," Anna said as she shook her head.

"What?" Cody asked. They were standing right beside each other at the edge of the bed, so they talked low, not wanting to disturb Toby as he continued on his "arm" conversation.

"I sort of prefer this Toby... At least he now has a reason for his insanity."

"...Arms are nice. They let you hold things. Like pizza, footballs, guns, women."

"Okay," Jimmy said with a sigh as he got up out of the chair. He turned to Cody and Anna, "I am going to go talk to a nurse. I think they might have him on too high of a dose of... Whatever it is they have him on. I'll be back."

Anna and Cody nodded.

"...You can hold a phone... Money, women, papers, toothbrush, women-"

"So, Toby," Cody interrupted as he moved over to the left side of Toby's bed, "Why don't you just relax for a while? Save your strength. You know, lay back, close your eyes, don't speak..."

"I know what you're doin'!" Toby said with a smile as he pointed a finger at Cody, "You want me to go to sleep so you can make out with..." He moved his finger to point at Anna, "Her."

Anna's eyes widened, "What?"

"He figured it out when I came to visit him a few days ago."

"Did you sleep with him?" He asked Anna, his finger still pointing at her.

Cody rolled his eyes and pressed Toby's arm back down to his side.

"Uh... No."

Just then one of the nurses came into the room, "Alright Mr. Snow, what have we got going on here?" She asked as she went over to the IV bag.

"I don't know!" He said in an over-dramatic tone.

"Hm. Well, it looks like one of our new nurses has you on too high of a dose of medication. Honestly, I don't think you need this at all anymore. You're going home tomorrow so I'll stop the IV."

"Aw... You're so nice!"

"Thank you," She replied with a laugh.

"Well, I better get going," Jimmy said, "See you tomorrow Toby."

"Goodbye!"

"We gotta go too," Cody added, "Feel better okay Toby? I'll pick you up tomorrow."

"Alright. Goodnight, lovebirds!" Toby began to whistle as if he were a bird.

Anna rolled her eyes, "Goodbye Toby," She sighed as she and Cody walked out the door.

* * *

He was growing impatient. He couldn't take it much longer. Something had to be done. He needed to get closer to the end. He tried to leave hints, but apparently the hints weren't obvious enough.

"I've got to do something more," He said to James at what would be his last visit.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm getting tired of waiting. It's killing me."

James laughed, "Nice choice of words... But I'm not sure I get what you're saying."

He leaned in closer to James, "I want Cody."

"What?"

"He's the reason I've been doing all of this. I want him."

James was getting nervous, "But... But he's mine."

He nodded, "Yeah, and he put you behind bars. A genius like you, stuck in a place like this... Don't you want revenge?"

"He's mine!" James repeated with more anger.

He was confused, "I thought you'd be happy about this. I don't understand."

"Let me make it clear for you then," James began, "Cody is and will always be mine! Same goes for Zack. You don't touch them! Understand?" James was furious.

"Okay, okay," He replied as he stood.

* * *

_'Can't touch Zack or Cody,'_ He thought to himself as he walked to his car. Then he smiled, _'But he never said anything about the others.'_

* * *

The next evening, after a long day at work, Zack rubbed his eyes as he entered his house, "Hi honeys," He called out to Cassie and Ella.

He locked the door back then turned around, facing the living room. It was a mess, "Cassie?" He said loudly. There was no reply. His heart began to race, "Ella?"

After a second of silence he heard a faint cry. He began running down the hallway, "Ella?" He called again.

"Daddy!" He heard her yell from her bedroom.

He quickly ran to her bedroom door, almost tearing the door off its hinges as he threw it open.

He looked in the back, right corner of the room where she was sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees.

Zack ran over to her, picked her up, and comforted her as she cried, "Shh. It's okay baby," He said as he rubbed her head.

"He said... I couldn't open... the door," She said through her sobs, "He said... I had to stay... In my room."

"It's okay honey, it's okay."

"Daddy?"

"What sweetie?"

"He took Mommy."

* * *

***Last update before vacation*. The rest of the week will be packed with getting things ready to leave (we leave on Thursday). I will not be back home until Tuesday, which means I won't have time to write until a few days after that. Sorry it will be a while, but real life comes before this story... Besides, I haven't been on a vacation- that lasted longer than three days- in forever!**  
** Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Tell me what you think!**


	16. Your Fault

Zack raced to the kitchen, with Ella still in his arms, to get to his house phone and call Cody.

When he got to the phone he saw a note had been taped to it. He tore it off and read it to himself, _'This is all your brothers fault. I wouldn't have had to do this if he would have figured it out sooner.'_

Zack laid the note on the kitchen counter, grabbed his phone, and quickly dialed Cody's number.

* * *

"Do you need help getting inside?" Cody asked Toby as they pulled up to Toby's apartment complex.

"Uh... No, I don't think so," Toby replied. "Besides, I've got this awesome looking walker to help me," He added sarcastically as he opened the passenger door and stepped out of the car.

Cody laughed, "Okay, well call me if you need anything, alright?"

Toby nodded, "I think I'm just gonna take a nap. See ya later."

"Bye."

Toby shut the door and slowly walked into his apartment. Cody stayed until he was inside, just to make sure he got in without any problems.

As Cody began to drive off his phone started ringing, "Hello," He answered.

"Cody! You've got to get here now! That guy took Cassie and I don't know what he's gonna do and you have to find her," Zack was talking at warp speed, "Ella was here alone Cody! All alone. The house is wrecked and he took Cassie an-"

"Whoa! Slow down, Zack," Cody said. By now he had pulled over, "Tell me what happened again... But slower this time."

Zack took a deep breath and tried to remain calm, "The man who is after you, he took Cassie. When I got home I saw the living room was a mess. I called out for Cassie but no one answered, so I called for Ella. After a few seconds I heard her crying so I went to her room. She was sitting in the corner and she told me that some man told her to stay there. She told me "he took Mommy". I ran to the kitchen to call you and I found a note on taped to the phone."

"Oh my God," Cody said as he rubbed his forehead with his hand, "Is Ella alright?"

"She's still crying a little but she's okay."

After hearing his niece was okay Cody stepped into detective mode, "Listen to me Zack. Don't touch anything in the house. I'm on my way right now. I'm gonna call Anna and Jimmy and tell them to meet me at your apartment. I want you to go outside and wait for me... And stay calm for Ella."

Zack sighed, "Cody, What if-"

"Don't Zack. Don't think like that," Cody interrupted, knowing what Zack was thinking, "We'll find her. Just take Ella outside and calm her down. I know it's hard but you need to focus your attention on Ella right now, okay?"

"Okay... Hurry up Cody."

"I will."

* * *

Anna, Jimmy, and Cody all arrived around the same time. Not long after there were police officers surrounding the entire apartment complex.

"Uncle Cody!" Ella yelled as Cody walked up to her and Zack. She wasn't crying anymore but her puffy eyes and red face showed that she had been crying not too long ago. She reached out her arms for Cody to hold her.

"Hey Ellabear!" Cody said, faking a smile as he took her from Zack.

Cody looked at Zack, "You okay?" He asked.

Zack shook his head, "No... No, I'm not."

Cody turned his attention back to Ella, "I have a friend I'd like for you to meet."

"Who?" She asked with wide eyes.

Cody motioned for a man to come over, "This is Raymond Andrews."

"Hello," The man said with a smile, "You can call me Ray. What's your name?"

"I'm Ella."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Ella. You are a very pretty girl."

Ella smiled, "Thank you."

"Ella," Cody began, "Do you want to go talk with Ray for a little bit? You can tell him about all the dolls you have in your room."

"Okay!" Ella squealed. Cody put her down and she walked off with Raymond, holding his hand.

Zack, who had seemingly been in another world the whole time, just realized that his daughter was walking off with a stranger. He started to call her back but Cody stopped him.

"Don't," Cody warned as he took ahold of Zack's shoulder, "He's our forensic psychologist and he's great with kids. Besides he's just taking her right over there, you can still see her. She's fine... Now sit," He added as he pointed to the stairs that led to the second story of the apartments.

They both sat down on the third step, "Tell me what happened," Cody said calmly.

Zack placed his elbows on his legs and put his head in his hands, "I... I wasn't home. I came in and the house was a mess. I found Ella sitting in her room crying. She told me that he took Cassie," Zack began to panic, "What am I gonna do Cody? He took her!"

"Calm down, Zack. We don't know for sure if our serial killer is the one who took her."

"What! I do know!" Zack stood up, "I saw the note he left on the phone. He said it was your fault... Maybe it is your fault! I mean you are a detective. Shouldn't you have been able find him by now? He took my wife Cody! God only knows what he's done to her! And it's all because you couldn't catch him before. You couldn't do your job!..."

Cody remained silent, letting Zack vent all of his feelings. After a minute or so Zack finally stopped yelling at Cody.

"You done?" Cody asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes!" Zack replied angrily.

Cody nodded and stood up, "Good. Now it's your turn to listen... And don't interrupt! Cassie is basically my sister and right now I'm worried as hell for her, but I am also a detective and I have a job to do. If you want me to find Cassie then calm down. I can't be working on finding her and worrying about you and Ella at the same time. Ella needs to know that you'll be there for her. She needs more support then you do right now. So, while I am sorry that your wife is missing, I am more sorry that Ella's mother is missing. I have been working like crazy to find this guy, whoever he is, but I can't change the fact that I haven't been able to find him yet. But when I do find him, he'll regret the day he was born," Cody moved closer to Zack, "And if I ever hear you yell like that in front of Ella I will snatch her up from under you so fast that you'll have no idea what even happened. Take your anger out on me all you want, but never in front of your child. Understand?"

A tear fell from Zack's eye, "I'm so scared," He whispered.

Cody sighed, "I know. Me too," He replied as he pulled his brother into a hug.

* * *

A few seconds later a young officer came out of Zack's apartment, "Detective Martin," He called out.

Cody, who was still holding onto a crying Zack, called out, "Yeah, I'm down here."

The officer stood at the top of the stairs, "Your boss wants you to see somethin'. He told me to come get you."

Cody nodded, "Okay, I'm coming." Cody let go of his brother and stared him straight in the eyes, "I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be hard. But just remember that no matter how hard it is on you, it's harder on Ella. You can go sit with her if you want. I'll be back down in a little bit."

* * *

Cody stopped for a moment as he entered the apartment. He hadn't been inside yet and he couldn't believe how messy it was.

"Cody, back here!" Jimmy called out from Zack and Cassie's bedroom.

Cody took a deep breath and walked into the bedroom, "When are we moving them into a safehouse, Boss?" He asked.

"Today. Actually in just a couple of hours, but that's not why I called you in here."

"Yeah, I figured."

"Follow me," Jimmy said as he walked into the bathroom.

Cody followed close behind, but froze when he looked at the bathroom mirror.

Written, with what looked like red lipstick, were seven names:

_Zack Cody _

_Toby Cassie _

_Anna Jimmy _

_Ella_

There was a line drawn through Cassie's name. Right under the names was a small question:

_Who's next?_

* * *

**We're in the hotel room taking a little break so I decided to write another chapter. I had already started it before I left so all I had to do was write the last half. **  
**I'm super happy with all the reviews I got from the last chapter :) Maybe I need to go on vacations more often! Thank you all for the reviews! They mean the world to me!  
Some added news: I was writing an outline of the rest of the story and right now it goes to chapter 20. May end up being a chapter more, or a chapter less. Just thought I'd let y'all know.**


	17. The Demon

"You saw a girl matching the description of our missing person?" Toby asked as he took phone calls for tips about Cassie.

"Mhm."

"Where did you see her?"

"Well, I didn't see her. I felt her presence."

Toby rolled his eyes, "Oh really?"

"Yes. I felt her calling out to me."

"And what was she saying?"

"She didn't use words. She clucked."

Toby sighed, "Like a chicken?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, well, thank you very much. We'll call you if your information leads to anything. Don't call us... Please." Toby growled as he slammed down the phone.

"Another weirdo?" Anna asked.

"Seems to be the only type of people who exist anymore."

"You feelin' okay?" She asked, "I can take you back home. You've been here for hours."

"First of all, I can't go home. None of us can, remember? Some psycho freak is out to get us all. And second, I wouldn't go home anyway. We need to find Cassie. Even if I can't go out in the field, I can try to help from my desk."

"Well, at least take a little break. Go to the back room and lie down for a while. You look drained. I mean you just got out of the hospital a few hours ago."

Toby shook his head, "Not right now. I'm fine."

He looked up from his desk to see Anna staring at him with a "I don't believe you" look on her face.

Toby sighed, "Give me thirty minutes. In thirty minutes I will lie down for a little bit. Okay?"

Anna nodded in approval, "Sounds good."

* * *

Zack sat down beside Ella. They were in a playroom at the precinct.

"Hey Ella," Ray said as he walked into the room.

Ella looked up from the picture she was coloring, "Hi Ray!" She said happily.

"What are you coloring?" He asked.

"A bunny."

Ray looked at the picture, "A purple bunny! I like it."

"Thank you."

Ray sat down in front of Zack and Ella, "Do you mind if I ask her a few questions?" He asked Zack. "If she starts to get upset, I'll stop."

Zack nodded, "Okay."

"So, Ella, do you remember what happened today?"

The happiness faded from Ella's face, "Mommy was taken by a bad man."

"What about before that? What did you and your mommy do today?"

"When I woke up she made me breakfast. Then we had to run er... err..." She tried to remember the word that Cassie used, but she couldn't, "We had to go get stuff."

"And after that?"

"We came home and I played in my room and mommy made me a sammich for lunch." Ella looked down at her picture, "What color for the feet?"

"Um, blue," Ray answered as he handed her the blue crayon, "Now, what were you doing when the bad man came?"

Ella thought for a second, "That was later. Mommy was about to make dinner cause daddy would be home soon. The bad man knocked on the door but he came in before mommy could answer the door. I was watching Barney. I screamed because his face was covered up."

"Then what happened?"

"Mommy ran in the room. She tried to talk to him but he wouldn't listen to her. He told me to go in my room but I didn't move til my mommy told me to go. She looked sad."

"Do you remember anything else?" Ray asked.

"There was a bunch of loud noises. I was scared. Then it got quiet. The man came in my room. He told me to stay there and don't leave... He sounded funny."

"What do you mean?"

"His voice was diff-rent. It wasn't like yours or daddy's or uncle Cody's."

Ray smiled as Ella yawned, "That's all for now," He said to Zack. Then he turned back to face Ella, "You are a very smart girl."

She smiled, "My daddy says I'm like my uncle Cody." She yawned again.

Ray laughed, "We have a room in the back with some beds if you want to lay her down in there," He said to Zack, "If the bed is made, then it's clean. I'm not sure when the safehouse that you two will be staying in will be cleared, but I'm pretty sure it won't be for a while." He looked at his watch, "And It's already nine o'clock. I'm sure Ella wants to go to bed."

Zack nodded, "Okay. Thank you."

"No problem," Ray stood to leave, "You've got a great daughter. Bye Ella! See you later."

Ella waved at him, "Bye Ray."

* * *

Zack and Ella were moved to the safehouse in the middle of the night, but Jimmy, Toby, Anna, and Cody remained at the precinct.

They took phone calls and followed up on leads, which all ended up being dead ends, all night.

* * *

"Hey Cody," Abel said as he walked into the precinct at seven o'clock the next morning.

"Hey," He replied, looking exhausted.

"I heard about what happened. I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No," Cody replied, "Thanks though."

"How's it going?" Abel asked.

"Honestly? Not good at all. Maggie hasn't finished processing all the fingerprints from the apartment yet, but so far no matches. Toby and Anna are actually with her right now. We've talked to neighbors, but the ones below and beside her weren't home, and the ones above didn't hear anything." Cody, who was sitting at his desk, placed his elbows on his desk and laid his head in his hands, "And it's all my fault."

"What?"

"I should have found him by now. He's too good!" Cody got up and began pacing back and forth, "I feel like I'm not even doing my job!"

"You'll find him Cody. Don't worry. Sure, him writing all your names on the mirror will make it tougher seeing that you'll have to have protection, but if you're what he wants then he'll probably keep Cassie alive as leverage."

Cody stopped pacing and nodded, "You're right. If he keeps her alive then he can call and ask for an exchange. Me for her! If he kills her then he's no closer to getting to me," Cody smiled, "You should think about becoming a detective, Abel."

Abel smiled, "Nah, I'm good where I'm at," He began to leave, "Let me know if you need anything!" He called back to Cody.

"Okay, thanks."

* * *

"It's been three days, Cody," Zack said as he sat down on the couch in the safehouse.

"I know," Cody, who was sitting on the other side of the couch, replied, "I thought he would have called by now. Based on all the clues we've gotten from him, I'm the one he wants. I don't understand it."

Zack looked around the couch to make sure that Ella was still playing at the other end of the hallway, "Do you... Do you think she's still alive?" He asked quietly.

Cody nodded, "Yeah, I do."

"How do you know?"

"I've been a detective for a long time now. Sometimes I just know. It's a feeling."

Cody looked at Zack and could tell that he felt no comfort.

"When you get a new student," Cody began, "Can you tell which ones are gonna listen and which ones aren't?"

"Almost immediately."

"How?"

"I've been teaching for years now, so I just..." His voice trailed off.

"You just get a feeling?" Cody finished.

Zack nodded hesitantly, "Yeah, I do."

"She's alive Zack. I know it." Cody looked at his watch, "I've got to get back to work. Jimmy only let me out for half an hour. I had to convince him to let me come here alone. He made me put a GPS tracker in my car and, of course, I get to where the oh-so-comfortable bulletproof vest!... I'll come back tomorrow though."

"Okay."

Cody got up and walked into the hallway, "Bye Ella," He said as he went to give her a hug.

"Bye uncle Cody! I Love you!"

* * *

**"My Cody, When are you going to give up?" James asked.**

**"Never!" Cody yelled.**

**James laughed, "I'm not the one who's after you Cody. No matter how glad I am that you are dreaming of me, I'm not the demon who's after you now."**

**"But you know something and you're not telling me."**

**"You've gotta let me go Cody," James said. His voice was now much more relaxed... Almost calming.**

**"What?" Cody asked. He was very confused.**

**"Let him go," Suddenly James turned into Jimmy.**

**Cody shook his head, "No, no, no-"**

**"Cody, if you don't let him go, you'll never figure it out!" Jimmy turned into Toby.**

**"Anytime you think about our serial killer, you base everything off of James. Let him go."**

**"But... But how?" Cody asked.**

**"Stop bringing everything back to him. Look at the case without thinking about James." Now Toby turned into Anna, "Forget he knows anything. Think about what you know. You know, Cody!"**

**Anna turned into Cassie, "You have to help me Cody!"**

**"I'm trying," Cody replied helplessly.**

**"Help me. Help me. Help me..." Cassie kept repeating.**

**"I will! I'm trying!"**

"Cody!" Anna yelled as she shook Cody. They were staying at the same safehouse. Her in the bedroom, and him on the couch.

Cody jumped, "Huh?"

"You were having a nightmare," She sat down beside him, "Are you okay?"

Cody was silent as he thought. He didn't have the sick feeling that he usually had after one of his nightmares, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

Cody smiled as he looked at her, "I'm sure. Thanks."

"Anytime."

* * *

Cody was sitting at his desk, thinking. He had been sitting there for hours now, staring straight ahead yet not really seeing anything.

Anna and Toby were about to leave to go get dinner. They had discussed breaking him out of his trance but decided against it.

Cody remained deep in thought, going over everything. Every moment of the case was flashing through his mind, except the parts that had to do with James. He thought about every clue they had, every crime scene they went to, and every person he had had a conversation with since the case began.

Suddenly his eyes widened and he spoke for the first time in hours, "Oh my God!"

* * *

"Hello," Toby answered his cell phone. He and Anna had just gotten back to the precinct from going to get dinner.

"Hey Toby," Zack replied.

"What's up Zack?" Toby asked.

"Is Cody with you?"

Toby looked over at Cody's desk, "Uh, no... I thought he was going to visit you and Ella tonight?"

"He was... But he never showed up."

* * *

**I wrote this chapter in my notebook on the way home from my vacation. It's amazing how much you can write when you spend 12 hours in a car! haha But I got alot done, including some ideas for my next story! I was actually prepared to write and say that after this story was over I wouldn't be writing for a while, but now I have so many ideas that there is no way I am taking a long break!... Maybe a week or so, but I was planning to take a month off. Anyway, not doing that now :)**  
** I am so happy with the reviews I have gotten! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much!  
Also: Who do you guys think the serial killer/kidnapper is? Is it someone we've already met, or no? Let me know what you think!**


	18. Forced

6p.m.

"Well, maybe he's here," Toby said, trying not to jump to conclusions, "Hang on."

Toby put his phone down, "Anna, will you go look around and see if Cody's here?" He asked just as she was about to sit at her desk.

Anna nodded, "Sure."

Toby got back on the phone, "Anna is going to look around. I'm sure he's around here somewhere. Did you already call the officers at the safehouse where he's staying?"

"Yeah, they said he wasn't there. I called them twice," Zack sighed, "I've called Cody five times on his cell phone and three times on his desk phone."

"Well, I've got Anna looking around- Oh, here she comes..." He kept the phone to his ear as he asked Anna, "Is he here?"

"No," She replied, seeming more worried then when she went to look for him.

"Is he there?" Zack asked.

"No, he's not," Toby replied hesitantly, "Zack, I'm gonna call you back okay? Just stay calm, I'm sure he's fine."

"Okay. Talk to you soon."

"Okay, bye."

As soon as Toby hung up he looked around for the two officers that were supposed to follow Cody everywhere he went. They were sitting near the entrance of the precinct. Toby walked over to them, "Cody... Where is he?"

Both young officers jumped up, but only one spoke, "He... He left, sir."

"Well then why the hell are you two here?" Toby asked, getting very angry.

"Well, um... Your... I mean our boss told us to stay here."

Toby turned around and limped quickly back to Jimmy's office, Anna following behind, "Why the hell did you let Cody go off by himself?"

"Excuse me?" Jimmy replied, in shock at Toby's tone.

"Cody is missing Boss," Anna said, her voice was alot calmer than Toby's.

"What? No he's not. He told me he was going to see Zack and Ella. I had him go in a company car, I made him put the GPS tracker in his car, and he called me when he got to the safehouse. I checked the GPS tracker and he was there," Jimmy got on his computer and checked the tracker's location, "And he still is."

"Well Zack just called saying that he never showed up," Toby said, "And he's not answering his cell phone."

"Oh my God," Jimmy thought for a moment, "Okay, you two go to the safehouse. Look around and see if you find the tracker there. Call me if you find anything, or even if you don't. Go!"

6:30p.m.

Jimmy was outside of the prison, waiting impatiently for Toby's call. He wanted to go inside right then, but knew he needed to wait until he knew Cody was truly missing.

* * *

It was eight o'clock before his phone rang, "Yeah."

"We found the tracker, Boss. He must have thrown it out, or was forced to throw it out, after he called you. It was in the woods next to the safehouse."

Jimmy sighed, "Okay, thanks Toby."

"What do you want me and Anna to do now?"

"I want you both to stay with Zack. I don't want to lose anymore of you."

"But Boss, we need to be out there looking for Cody!" Toby protested.

"No, Toby! You will both stay at the house and you will not leave. Understood?"

Toby clenched his jaw, "Yes, sir."

* * *

Jimmy walked into the prison and was met by Dan, "Hey Dan," Jimmy began, "Thanks for letting me come on such short notice... And so late."

"No problem. Anything for an old friend. Come this way."

Dan led Jimmy into a back room, "He's right in there," He said as he pointed to a door, "And I already got the guards out. No one will be watching."

"Thanks."

Jimmy walked into the room.

"So we meet again," James said with a smile on his face, "But as I told you before, I will only speak with my Cody."

Jimmy smiled, "Oh, that's not gonna happen."

"What do you mean?" James asked, his smile fading slightly.

"Your Cody has gone missing."

James smile was now completely gone, "What?"

"See, he told me around five o'clock that he was going out to visit his brother and niece. I let him go alone because I was taking all these other precautionary measures, and I thought he would be safe. But now we can't get him to answer his phone and we have evidence that leads me to think that he might have been kidnapped."

James shook his head, "No."

"Oh yes," Jimmy replied, "Right now, your Cody, is with someone else. They are having their way with them... And the thing is, you know who this person is. And I think you also know where he is. So tell me, do you want to save your Cody?"

"You... You're lying aren't you? This is all a joke just so I'll talk! It's not gonna work."

Suddenly Jimmy got up out of his chair, grabbed James by his shirt, and threw him against the wall, "Cody is like a son to me. He has been since the day he started working for me. I've tried to be patient with you but to be honest I've never really been a patient guy and now is not the time for me to start! So, you either tell me what you know, or I kill you! And I will kill you... I'll get by with it too because right now no one is watching through that mirror and when they ask what happened I'll say that you tried to attack me... Now, let's try this again. Do you want to save Cody or do you want some other man to kill him and to take him from you forever?"

James was sweating heavily. He was scared by the look in Jimmy's eyes, and also scared that someone had his pride and joy, "I... I think I remember something."

Jimmy let go of James, "That's better."

"One time... When he came to visit... one of the times, he told me of this place that he liked to go. It was this old, abandoned house. He said he liked to go there to think."

"Where is it?"

James was silent.

"Where is it!" Jimmy yelled.

"I... I can remember... If you let me go. I'll lead to right to it, but you have to let me go with you."

"There is no way in hell that that's going to happen."

"It's either that or Cody dies! Which would you prefer?"

* * *

Earlier that evening... Around 5:23p.m.

After calling Jimmy and throwing the GPS tracker out of his window Cody made his way to where the killer worked. He got out another GPS tracker that he had taken from work and placed it on the back of the killers car. Then he turned off his phone.

Cody waited in the parking lot across the street for the man to get off of work. Once the man had gone quite a ways down the road, Cody followed behind.

He followed the man for hours, making sure he kept his distance.

Cody followed the man down a dirt road that led to an old house in the middle of nowhere. By the time Cody got to the house the killer had already been there for about twenty minutes.

Cody parked about a half of a mile away from the house and decided to walk the rest of the way. When he reached the house he saw a light on inside so he decided to get a closer look.

He went to pull his gun out of the holster, just to be safe, but before he could even get to it something struck the back of his head, causing everything to go black as he fell to the ground.

* * *

**I meant to update yesterday, but I decided to have a 21 Jump Street marathon instead.  
This was one of those necessary chapters... I'm sorry if it sucks. I had to put the times in there because even I was getting confused at what time everything was happening at haha... Next chapter will be better, for sure. We will all find out who the killer is, and we will find out why he is doing what he is doing. But until then I still want to know your guesses for who the killer may be... Some people have guessed Greg, Jimmy... And one person even guessed Toby :) Hmmm... Wonder who it could be? ;)  
Well, I have been feeling kinda sad lately... Not sure why. Maybe because of going on vacation then coming back to reality which is okay but kinda sucks in some ways right now. So leave a nice review... I mean, you can tell me if the chapter sucked, but tell me nicely please :)! Thanks!**


	19. In Love With A Serial Killer

Cody's eyes slowly began to open. He was groggy and, at first, he couldn't remember where he was or why he was there. After a few seconds he remembered that he had followed the killer back to an old house. Cody tried to get up but quickly realized that he was tied down to a chair, and that he was far to dizzy too get up anyway.

After a few minutes, when his eyes were able to focus and he could see things more clearly, he looked around the empty, concrete room. He was in the center of the room. Right in front of him was the door and, by the little light the moon was shining in, he could tell a window was behind him. The door was only a few steps away but just thinking of trying to get up made Cody nauseous.

He bent his fingers so he could touch what was binding his wrists.

_'Rope,_' He thought as he felt it. Flashbacks of being tied up with rope by James came running through his mind. _'No, no, no. Pull yourself together! Deep breaths.'_

He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. That's when he noticed the horrible pain in the back of his head, "Ah!" He couldn't help but yell as he jerked his head back up and opened his eyes. He could feel blood lightly running down his neck, _'Oh Cody,'_ He thought as he sighed, _'You are so stupid.'_

_

* * *

_

"How did you ever get the guards to agree to this?" James asked as he and Jimmy began to drive down the road.

James was sitting in the front seat, beside Jimmy, with hand cuffs and ankle cuffs on.

"Doesn't matter."

"Maybe not to you..."

"Shut up!" Jimmy yelled, "The only time you speak is to give me directions, understand?"

"Sir, yes sir! You better relax though... It's quite a long ways."

* * *

Cody was inside the room for over an hour before he heard anything. But the silence couldn't last forever and soon enough he could hear footsteps moving closer and closer, then the door knob turned and the door opened.

"Surprised to see me?" The man asked as he stared at Cody.

"Wish I could say I was," Cody replied with a glare.

"Well, it did take ya long enough... Although I was looking forward to taking a couple more of your friends, but I'm glad to finally get part of my grand prize."

"Part?" Cody asked.

He shook his head, "Yes, yes. I wanted both you and your brother. But, there is still time and I'm a patient person."

Cody was still feeling the excruciating pain in his head, "I don't understand... Abel, why are you doing this?"

"Why? You want to know why?" Abel asked in his thick Boston accent.

"That's what I just said."

Abel walked up to Cody and back-handed him across the face, "Don't be sarcastic with me!" He yelled.

The pain from being slapped and from the already existing head wound was unimaginable, but Cody kept his screams inside.

"How did you find me?... Just curious."

"When we talked... You knew about the writing on the mirror. We never... Let that part out... To the public... The only people that knew... Where the people that needed to know... You weren't one of those people."

"Nice! Did you have to think long and hard about that one?"

"Why... Are you... Doing this?" Cody asked again, "You're a cop! Why would... You screw that... Up?"

"I've always loved reading about murderers, rapists, kidnappers. I wanted to get inside their heads and see what made them who they are. It started out innocent, but then... Then I started reading about James and... And I was fascinated," Abel said as he smiled, "I mean, being able to do what he did over and over. Being so smart... It was... He was amazing."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Cody yelled angrily, "All of this is because you're in love with a serial killer!"

Abel slapped him again, "Shut up! I am not in love with him... I'm in love with what he did. He was a genius! He planned it all out so well," Abel glared at Cody, "And you... You and your brother ruined it all! You messed it all up!"

"How did we do that? By surviving?"

"Yes! If it wasn't for you and your brother then James could still be free!"

"And more innocent boys would be raped and murdered!" Cody yelled back.

"Shut up!" Abel screamed as he kicked Cody's chair over, "Shut up!"

"Ah!" Cody yelled, his whole body was aching now.

Abel kicked Cody in the stomach, not once, but twice.

"Stop!" Cody yelled.

Abel stopped, picked Cody's chair back up, and began to leave.

"Wait," Cody said as he gasped for breath, "Where... Is... Cassie?"

Abel stopped and turned back around to face Cody, "She's unavailable at the moment."

"If you... Killed her... I'll kill you."

Abel laughed, "Really? How do you suppose you'll do that with your hands and feet all tied up?... Cody, I became a cop seven years ago just to get close to you. I waited and planned for seven years before I took any action. I was trained by some of the best officers you can find. You're not getting out of this one."

"Did you... Kill all those... Women just... To get to... Me?"

Abel smiled, "Yes, I did," He replied as he left the room.

* * *

"We're getting closer," James said to Jimmy, "If I'm right it should only be twenty to twenty-five minutes away."

Jimmy got out his cell phone.

"Hello," The person answered after three rings.

"Hey Abel, I was wondering if you could help me out."

"What do you need?"

"I need you to join me at a house where I think Cassie and Cody might be."

"What do you mean "Cody"?"

"Cody recently went missing as well. Listen, if I give you the area can you meet me there in twenty minutes?"

"Uh... Sure."

"Okay, and make sure it's just you. I don't want to scare this guy with a bunch of cops around. I want us to get in as quickly and quietly as we can."

"Uh-huh. No problem."

After hanging up with Jimmy, Abel raced upstairs to the room Cody was in, "Time to go."

* * *

**Shorter chapter but I didn't want this one to be too long... So, we now know who the killer is! Woot! haha... I love the fact that none of you guessed Abel. That's what I was hoping for :) **  
**You all sure know how to make me smile! Your reviews made me smile and laugh and I thank you for that :) I wish I could give you all a big hug and tell you how grateful I truly am! **  
**Let me know what you think... Review!  
P.S. I forgot to mention that some of you guessed Walter as well.**


	20. He's Gone

**I got alot of people who didn't remember Abel so here are the chapters he was in if you want to go back: 2,5,7,11,17, and 19. I'm surprised so many of you didn't remember him, as was in quite a few of the chapters.**

* * *

"What?" A barely conscious Cody asked.

"It's time to go," Abel repeated as he began to untie Cody from the chair, "I have to finish this now."

"I thought you... were a... patient person," Cody replied, trying to waste time.

Cody remained sitting as Abel untied the rope around his ankles.

"Come on, get up!" Abel yelled as soon as he threw the rope over to the side.

"I... I can't," Cody said weakly.

Abel got right on front of Cody's face, "You either get up now, or you die now. You choose."

Cody, wrists still tied behind him, tried to get up, but the pain in his all over his body was too much for him to be able to stand alone. So, Abel grabbed onto Cody's arm, jerking him up and pulling him towards the door, "Let's go."

* * *

It took ten minutes for Cody to get downstairs and into an old truck that was in the back of the house.

Once Abel had gotten Cody into the truck, he got inside and started it up. He began going down a small road, behind the house, that was very well hidden by trees and bushes.

"Where are you... taking me?" Cody asked.

"Someplace special."

"When they... come to find... me, they'll see my car... on the road leading to the house... They'll know I'm here."

"I already took care of that. I moved both of our cars."

"I don't understand... why you didn't just take me... in the first place. Why did you... kill all those women?"

"That was part of the fun!" Abel replied, "I waited for so long to get to you that it would have been over far too soon had I just taken you. But you did take longer to figure the murders out... Longer than I expected."

"So much for patience," Cody replied.

"Are you trying to be funny?" Abel asked as he reached his hand over and grabbed Cody by the hair.

Cody, his head already in horrible pain, shook his head 'no'.

* * *

"It should be right up here," James said as they neared the house.

"How did you ever figure out where this place was?" Jimmy asked.

"He talked about it almost every time he came to visit me."

Jimmy pulled up to the house, turned off his car, and stepped out. He walked over to the passenger side and opened the door, "Come on," He said to James.

"You want me to come with you?"

"Well, I can't leave you in the car."

"What if the killer is inside?"

"You're the one who wanted to come along! Besides it's dark inside and there are no cars. I doubt anyone got here by foot. Come on."

James reluctantly got out of the car. Jimmy held onto James with one hand and held his gun with the other.

"What do you have that out for?" James asked.

"Just in case."

"I thought you said no one was here!"

"I don't have x-ray vision! I can't believe what I chicken you are. You've killed many times... You shouldn't be afraid."

"Shouldn't we wait on your friend... Abel, was it?"

"I don't want to waste time. Now shut up!"

Jimmy opened the unlocked door and quietly went into the house. He walked through a small hallway that led to a living room. Right passed the living room was the kitchen.

"Hold out your hands," Jimmy said to James when they got into the kitchen.

James did as he was told.

Jimmy unlocked one hand from James's handcuffs.

"What makes you think I won't try anything right now?" James asked Jimmy.

"Because you want Cody to be found just as much as I do, and, like it or not, you know I could find him better than you could."

Jimmy walked James over to the refrigerator, placed the handcuff through the handle, and re-cuffed James other hand.

"I'll be back," Jimmy said as he went to look through the rest of the house.

"You're leaving me cuffed to the refrigerator?"

"Can you tug a fridge around?"

"No."

"Then yes," Jimmy replied, "I'm leaving you cuffed to the refrigerator."

Jimmy headed upstairs. When he got to the top of the staircase he looked both ways and decided to go left first. There were two doors. Jimmy started with the one at the end of the hallway. He slowly opened the door and looked around. It was a small, dirty bathroom.

Jimmy moved on to the second room. It was almost empty, except for the chair and the rope that had been thrown on the ground. He walked around the chair, bending down when he saw some blood. There wasn't a whole lot of blood, which comforted Jimmy somewhat, but there was enough to make someone dizzy and weak.

Jimmy, not wanting to waste time, exited the room and went to the right side of the house. There was only one door on that side. He went to open it but it was locked. He moved back some then rammed into the door causing it to crash open.

There sat Cassie, tied to a chair with duct tape over her mouth.

Jimmy ran over to her, quickly removing the duct tape, but being careful not to hurt her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She replied, her voice clearly shaken.

Jimmy began untying Cassie from the chair, "You sure?"

"Yeah. He just tied me up, he never hurt me. But, he took Cody. He left with him. I think Cody was hurt."

"Did you see Cody?"

"No, but I heard him. You can hear everything in this house. Cody and he talked for a while, then a few hours later he got a phone call. After the phone call he came upstairs and told Cody it was time to go. Cody didn't sound good."

"Did you hear where he was taking him?"

Cassie shook her head, "No," She replied as Jimmy held out his hand to help her up from the chair, "He just said it was time to go and that he had to finish it now."

Jimmy's heart began to race, "Did you see his face?"

"No, he always wore a mask when he came in."

"Okay. Cassie I'm gonna take you out to my car. I want you to stay there until the ambulance arrives. I want them to check you out and make sure you are okay. I'll call them once I get you into the car."

They left the room and began going downstairs.

"Hang on a second," Jimmy said once they got downstairs. He walked into the kitchen, "Oh my God!"

"What's wrong?" Cassie asked as she hurried into the kitchen.

Jimmy walked over to the fridge, where the locked handcuffs were hanging from the handle, "He's gone!"

* * *

**Decided to split the last chapter into two chapters. It would have been too long otherwise and I don't like super long chapters.**  
** This is now my most reviewed story! Thank you guys so much! You are all too amazing for words!**  
** Please review and let me know what you think :)**


	21. Let Go

"Who's missing?" Cassie asked.

"James."

"James?... James! Why was James here?"

"He helped me find the place," An angry Jimmy replied, "Come on, I've got to get you in the car."

They hurried outside. Jimmy called 911 as he helped Cassie into the car.

"Don't open the door until they get here, okay?" Jimmy said once he hung up. "And if you see another car pull up it's Abel. You can open the door for him too."

"Abel?" Cassie repeated as though the name sounded familiar.

"Yeah. I gotta go. I'm gonna be looking around back."

* * *

"We're here," Abel said with a sigh of relief.

Cody looked out at a large lake. There was nothing else around, except for trees and a boat in the water.

Abel got out of the car and walked over to Cody's side. He opened the door and, before giving Cody a chance to get out on his own, jerked him out of the car, causing Cody to gasp in pain.

"Get in the boat," Abel said as he pushed Cody toward the boat.

Cody, knowing he was too weak to fight back, did as he was told.

Abel got inside the boat right after Cody. There was something on lying on the bottom of the boat. Abel picked it up, "This," He began, "Is scuba gear. Inside the oxygen tank there is approximately twenty minutes of oxygen." Abel started the engine on the boat and directed it to go toward the middle of the lake. "I suggest you put the gear on."

* * *

By the time Cody got it on they were right in the middle of the lake. Abel moved to the other end of the boat and pulled out some rope and a cement block. He began tying it around Cody's ankles.

"What are you doing?" Cody asked, becoming more and more worried.

"Here's how it goes. You are going down there," He said as he pointed to the lake, "This is the deepest part of the lake. In twenty minutes you will run out of oxygen and you'll die- unless, of course, someone finds you first... But they won't. Anyway, it'll give you twenty minutes to think about your life before you die a slow and painful death... I suggest not taking any deep breaths."

"You don't have to do this," Cody began.

"Oh, don't try that with me. Of course I have to do this. I've waited eight years to do this," Abel made sure Cody had everything on right. "Now, just a few parting words before you go: It's been fun. Thanks for all the good times. I'm sure you'll be missed, and good luck!" Abel pushed Cody off the side of the boat.

* * *

It took Abel eight minutes to get back to his truck.

"Where is he?" He heard a man say right before he opened his car door.

Abel slowly turned around, "What?... James? What are you doing here?"

"I told you that Cody was mine! What did you do with him?"

"I... I couldn't help it. I had to-"

"Where is he?" James repeated with more anger than before.

"He's in the lake," Abel replied.

"What!"

"I put him down in the middle of the lake."

James began to go toward the water but Abel drew a gun out from his truck, "Don't!" He yelled.

"I will not let my Cody die!" James yelled. He continued to the water, but before he could get close Abel shot him.

"Ah!" James yelled as he fell to the ground.

* * *

For five minutes Abel stood there as James gasped for breath. It was as though he was in shock at the fact that the had shot his mentor.

About a minute later Jimmy arrived. Abel looked away from James, "I got him," Abel said.

"Put down the gun, Abel," Jimmy said angrily as he pointed the gun at Abel.

"What if he tries to get up?" Abel said, his voice was shaky, "Why are you pointing the gun at me?"

"Where's Cody?" Jimmy asked.

"What... What do you mean?"

"I know it was you. Cassie heard Cody talking to you. When I said your name she remembered you. Next time you decide to kidnap people, take them to a soundproof house. Now where is he?"

Abel shook his head, "No. No, it'll be too late then. You'll never have him back!" Abel swung the gun around to face Jimmy, causing Jimmy to shoot him. It hit him right between his eyes, killing him instantly.

Jimmy ran over to James, "James... James? Did he tell you where Cody was?"

James, in terrible pain, shook his head 'yes'.

"Good, good. Where is he?"

"L... Lake," James began coughing up blood, "M...Middle." With one last cough, and a gasp, James was dead.

Jimmy, not wanting to waste anymore time, ran to the boat and made his way to the middle of the lake. By the time he got there Cody's 20 minutes had been up for two minutes.

Jimmy dove into the water beginning his search for Cody. It didn't take long to find him. Jimmy quickly lifted his thin body into the boat. He hurried to take off all the scuba gear. Once he did he leaned down to listen and see if Cody had a heartbeat. There was neither a heartbeat or a pulse.

"Come on Cody! Come on!" Jimmy said as he began CPR. "Don't do this, Cody! Come back!"

After three minutes of CPR Jimmy began to feel a faint pulse and heartbeat.

"Oh thank God!"

* * *

"Is he gonna be okay?" Zack asked the doctor as he sat beside Cody in the hospital room. Anna, Toby, and Jimmy were in there as well. Cassie had gone back to the safehouse with Ella.

Dr. West sighed, "You want me to candy-coat it or to be blunt?"

"Blunt," Zack replied as he continued staring at his brother.

"I don't know. Right now I'm giving him a thirty percent chance. It would be more, but he seems to not have the will to survive."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked.

"I honestly think that if he wanted to wake up, he could. I'm not saying he would be out of the woods if or when he did wake up... We would have to do some tests to see if there is any brain damage from being without oxygen. He has four broken ribs and some pretty bad bruises all over his body, but all that would heal. I think he could survive, if he wanted too, but I'm not sure that's what he wants." The doctor's pager started to light up. He looked at it, "If you'll all excuse me I have to go. I'll be back in an hour. Let the nurses know if you need anything."

"Thanks," Jimmy replied with a nod.

They all sat and stood in silence for a little over ten minutes before Zack spoke up, "Guys," He began, "Would you excuse us for a minute?" He asked as he stared at Cody.

They left the room and Anna shut the door behind them.

Zack sighed and took his brothers hand, "Hey Cody. I'm- a- not sure you can hear me but... but I'm gonna talk anyway. I've been hearing alot of people whispering about you. They've been asking each other "why would a trained detective go alone to apprehend a murder suspect?". But, I already know why. You did it for Cassie, Ella... And me, I think. See, I know that you felt if you would have called it in then it would have taken too long. You didn't want to wait to get a group of officers together and storm into his place because you were afraid he'd suspect something and he'd leave. You wanted to move fast and you couldn't risk anyone else catching up to you too soon..." A tear fell from Zack's face, "I get that, Cody. No one else does, but I do. And I want you to know that he didn't get away and that Cassie is safe. You saved her." Zack began crying even harder, "Now I need you to save yourself... I wish I could save you, but I can't. Only you can. Only you." Zack let go of Cody's hand, leaned back into the chair he was sitting in, and wiped the tears from his eyes.

* * *

_"Cody... My Cody! Wake up!"_

_"Wha.. What? What is it?"_

_"Take my hand."_

_Cody opened his eyes and saw James standing over him. He quickly crawled to the back corner of the room, "No, no, no! Not again!"_

_"I said take my hand!"_

_Cody's shaking hand slowly reached up and held onto James's hand._

_"Good. Now come with me."_

_Cody walked outside of the room that held him captive, but instead of being in the little house he was standing on the top of a mountain. The cold wind was blowing his hair. Cody looked down where his hand was holding onto James, but James was gone. Cody turned around, "Hello? Hello!" He yelled._

_"I brought you," A voice said from behind him. Cody turned back around._

_"Are... Are you-"_

_"Yupp, I'm you... A younger you, but you." A teenage Cody stood near the edge of the mountain. He was wearing nothing but a dirty jacket and stained boxers._

_"This is..."_

_"Weird," The younger Cody replied, "For you... I know why I'm here."_

_"Enlighten me."_

_"I'm the you that you need to let go of. I'm the you that you've been holding onto for way too long."_

_Cody looked around him, "Where did James go?"_

_"Why does it matter? Do you want him here?"_

_"Of course not!"_

_"Then why do you bring him into your dreams?" The younger Cody asked, "Why do you think about him all the time? You pretend you don't, but you think about him more often then not."_

_"It's kinda hard not to think about him. He ruined me. He took my life from me," Tears fell from Cody's eyes, "He... He-"_

_"He raped you. He tortured you and Zack."_

_"I can't pretend it never happened."_

_"No one's asking you to pretend. All I'm asking... Well, all you're asking yourself really, is to let go of the pain he put you through. He didn't ruin you and he most certainly did not take your life. You seem to have a pretty good life if you ask me- I mean- ask you. Why don't you try waking up now?"_

_Cody shook his head, "I... I don't want to."_

_"Why not?"_

_"It's too hard to deal with right now. I'm more comfortable this way. I don't have to worry like I have to when I'm awake."_

_"You'd rather die?"_

_Cody shrugged, "I don't know... Maybe."_

_"That's stupid."_

_"Why?"_

_"Cause everything that has happened from the time you got rescued sixteen years ago, until now, will be in vain."_

_"Everybody has gotta die sometime," Cody replied, "Why not now?"_

_"And you really want to die? You want to leave your boss, who is like a dad to you? You want to leave Cassie and Ella? You want to never see your best friend or your brother ever again? And you never want to be with Anna, the woman you love? Is that what you want?"_

_Cody didn't reply._

_"This," The younger Cody said as he pointed to himself, "Was a chapter in your life... A crappy chapter, but just a chapter. This is not your whole life. This is not your whole story. So wake up, move on, start a new chapter, and finish your book when you're an old man with wrinkles and hands that shake."_

_Cody shook his head, "You're right."_

_"I know," The younger Cody replied sarcastically, "I mean, I am you, and you have always been smart... Although you are talking to yourself right now so that's pretty weird."_

_Cody laughed._

_"Well, I gotta go... Bye!"_

_"Goodbye!"_

* * *

Suddenly Cody's eyes opened.

"He's awake!" Zack yelled. Everyone was in the room except Ella, who was staying with a babysitter.

They all jumped at the volume of Zack's voice. For the three weeks that Cody had been in a coma Zack had seemed to become a mute.

"I'll get the doctor," Toby said as he rushed out of the room, forgetting about the cane that he used to walk.

"Cody, are you okay?" Zack asked.

Cody shook his head, "Yeah," He replied, his voice sounding dry.

Dr. West came rushing into the room, with Toby following closely behind.

"Hello Cody," The doctor began, "I'm Dr. West. I'm glad to see you're awake."

"How... long?" Cody asked, swallowing hard as he tried to speak.

"I'll get a nurse to get you some ice chips."

"I'll get it," Cassie offered.

"How... long?" Cody asked again.

"I'm guessing you're asking how long you've been in a coma. It's been three weeks," Dr. West replied. "I'm gonna ask you some simple questions. If your throat hurts let me know okay?"

Cody nodded.

"What's your first and last name?"

"Cody... Martin."

"Good. What state do you live in?"

"Mass.."

"What's your brothers name?"

"Z... Zack," Cody began to cough.

Cassie came in with the ice chips and handed them to Cody. He put two small pieces in his mouth.

"When I introduced myself, what did I say my last name was?"

"West," Cody replied. His voice sounding better once the ice had melted and soothed his throat.

"Do you know everyone in this room?"

Cody looked around to each person, saying their names one by one.

"Well, your short term and long term memory seems to be doing well. I'll run more tests later but for right now I'll let you relax. I'll be back soon to check up on you," Dr. West smiled, "I'm very glad to see your eyes open, Cody."

Once the doctor left Jimmy walked up beside Cody, "You feeling okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," Cody replied.

Jimmy nodded, tears visible in his eyes, "Good."

"What... happened?" Cody asked.

Jimmy looked at Zack to make sure it was okay for him to tell Cody what happened. When Zack nodded in approval, Jimmy continued, "Abel took you out to a lake-"

Cody stopped him, "I remember... After?"

"I needed to find you, so I went to see James. He knew where you were but he would only take me there. I found Cassie at the house, and when I went downstairs James had gotten away from where I had cuffed him."

Cody's heart rate rose drastically.

"But it's okay!" Jimmy continued quickly, "I found him. He went to the lake to find you and Abel shot him, then I shot Abel. They're both dead Cody. Both of them."

"Are you serious?" Cody asked in shock.

"Yeah."

* * *

After twenty minutes of reuniting with everyone they began to say their goodbyes and clear the room.

"I'm glad you woke up Cody," Cassie smiled, "And thanks for coming after me."

"Anytime," Cody replied as he gave her a hug.

Jimmy was next, "You know the last time you did something stupid I told you that I would fire you if you did something stupid like that again."

"Which means?"

"Which means, let's forget I ever said that. Feel better Cody."

Then it was Toby's turn, "What is it with you?" He asked sarcastically, "Do you just like being kidnapped?"

Cody laughed, "Yeah, I'm trying to start a new record."

"I figured... You know if you wanted all this attention you could have at least waited a little while... You completely stole my thunder. I'm not sure anyone remembers that I got shot."

"I remember," Cody replied. "I'm sure you'll be reminding me of that for a long time."

"That," Toby replied, "You can count on."

Toby left and Anna walked up to Cody, "You scared me."

"I scared me too."

"I-"

"I love you Anna," Cody cut her off.

Anna was shocked. She smiled, "Really?"

Cody nodded, "Really."

"I love you too, Cody." She leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the lips, "I'll be back this evening. See ya later."

* * *

"So, did you do anything while you slept?" Zack asked curiously once he was the only one in the room.

Cody nodded, "I did."

"Really? And what's that?"

"I let go."

Zack was confused, "Of?"

"The past."

Zack was extremely happy to be hearing the words that came out of Cody's mouth, "How does it feel?" He asked.

"Good," Cody replied with a smile, "Really good."

* * *

**The End! Woot! We made it! haha... I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I can't believe the amount of wonderful and supportive reviews I have received! You guys are amazing! This last chapter was alot longer than I expected. I'm glad I separated chapter 20 from this one. Sorry I didn't finish the story earlier but this last chapter was difficult to write and I haven't had much spare time lately.**  
**This story ends my three part series :( I'm sad to see it end because I love writing Zack and Cody as adults, but it doesn't mean I'll never write them as adults again.**  
**I went to church with my sister last week and the sermon was almost exactly like one I heard about a month ago at my church so I began writing another story while in church. I have the first chapter complete but I don't have a name for it yet. I'm not sure when I will start posting but I want to take at least a week off before I begin a new story.**  
**Again, thank you all for the reviews! Until next time... God Bless!**


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